Sony Bringing PlayStation To China

VentureBeat reports that one market formerly closed to console makers is opening up in a big way. An excerpt: "One month after Microsoft announced its launching the Xbox One in China this September, Sony today announced that its PlayStation business is coming to the world’s most populous country. It’s unclear which PlayStation hardware and games will come to China — or when — but it’s reasonable to assume Sony will bring its PlayStation 4 console (and perhaps its PlayStation Vita handheld) to China later this year. The Chinese game industry is already worth $13 billion, most of which gets spent on PC and mobile. That’s not console makers’ fault: China implemented a console ban in 2000, saying it would protect children from violent video games. As soon as the Chinese Ministry of Culture said it would begin working on new rules, Microsoft, Nintendo, and Sony all expressed interest in bringing their consoles to the country. Like Microsoft, which is working with Chinese media firm BesTV to bring the Xbox One to China, Sony also has a local partner: Shanghai Oriental Pearl Culture Development (OPCD). Both OPCD and BesTV are subsidiaries of China’s Shanghai Media Group."

Comments

points of ingress

[Dominare]

I like the quote at the end of TFA: “Things that are hostile to China, or not in conformity with the outlook of China’s government, won’t be allowed [under the new rules]” said Ministry of Culture head Cai Wu earlier this year. “We want to open the window a crack to get some fresh air, but we still need a screen to block the flies and mosquitoes.”

I like how they're worried about cracking the window when - given that actual PCs are already widespread - the door is basically wide open for anyone who cares to turn the knob.

Banned. Pfft. Nonsense.

[Rick in China]

Go to any computer market in China and there is typically a whole floor or large area dedicated to games. In Chengdu, for example, at the digital plaza computer market, there are maybe 8 or 9 mini-shops in the plaza which sell every console available, hardware accessories, and booklets with sleeves/printed covers to pick out SKUs of the pirated copy of game you'd like. Banned. Hardly enforced.

Re:Banned. Pfft. Nonsense.

[DigiShaman]

Perhaps I wasn't looking hard enough while in Shanghai, but I didn't see one game console that I recognized. I did see a lot of cheap Chinese knockoffs and other pirated look-a-like crap however. The real McCoy just wasn't there.

Re:Piracy on those platforms skyrockets in 3,2,1

[DrXym]

The PS2 and XBox were vulnerable to modchips. The PSP suffered exploits and custom firmware took over. The 360 too was modded although Microsoft bans people from XBL to keep it under control. Nintendo seems to treat copy protection as an afterthought which may explain why their systems are all cracked.

About the only console to withstand attack is the PS3, although Sony had to shut off some features and move code into higher kernel rings to secure it. All that whining over OtherOS being removed and Geohot being prosecuted was Sony protecting their platform from piracy.

Re:Forgotten History

[CronoCloud]

The reason for the removal of OtherOS was the (Risks? associated with the Other OS being outweighed!? by) the tax benefits imposed on importing consoles into the EU as computers being withdrawn

Why does this rumor never die. The surtax on consoles was removed in the EU a bit after YaBasic on the PS2 was released. Linux on the PS2 and PS3, post-date the removal of said surtax and therefor wasn't the reason they were created.