PS VR sets China release date to lure local game enthusiasts

Hiroyuki Oda, deputy president at Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Asia, introduces PlayStation VR during the product's China launch held in July 27, 2016 in Shanghai. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn by Liu Zheng]

Sony Interactive Entertainment (SIE) announced on Wednesday that it will release the PlayStation VR (PS VR) device in the Chinese mainland on Oct 13, marking the entrance of the entertainment conglomerate into the emerging market of virtual reality equipment to meet increasing demand.

Priced from 2,999 yuan ($450), the VR headset is available for order at both online distribution channels as well as 22 Sony's brick-and-mortar shops across the country.

"There will be 23 VR games, including seven by domestic developers, released once they gain approval from the nation's regulators," said Sony Interactive Entertainment (Shanghai) and Shanghai Oriental Pearl Solatube Culture Development Co.

In March, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc (SCEI) unveiled the global launch date for the bold VR gaming device.

"PlayStation VR will be available in China on the same day as it releases in the US, Europe and Japan," said Hiroyuki Oda, deputy president at Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Asia. "SIE has been working hard to cultivate the console gaming market in China from three perspectives, including actively importing games to the market, providing localized contents and products and promoting China-made content on PlayStation's gaming platform."

According to Oda, the strategy reflects Sony's confidence in the market and eagerness to respond to the enthusiasm of Chinese gamers.

Hiroyuki Oda, deputy president at Sony Computer Entertainment Japan Asia and Takehido Soeda, the company's China chief, attend a press conference after the PS VR China launch ceremony held in July 27, 2016 in Shanghai. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn by Liu Zheng]

Oda also announced a R&D support strategy named "China Hero Project", which aims at helping local Chinese game developers and startups to create, manage and distribute their products to the world.

Applications for the project will be accepted from August 15.

Takehito Soeda, the company's China chief told China Daily that currently they are looking for 10 candidates who have high commercial potential and they're glad to play as a middleman to bring content created by small- and medium-sized Chinese game development teams to the distributors.

Final Fantasy XV, a well known action role-playing video game being developed and published by Square Enix for the PlayStation 4, will also be available in Chinese and will be released soon in the country with a VR version.

All the announcements were released one day ahead of 2016 ChinaJoy, or the China Digital Entertainment Expo & Conference, which is the largest gaming and digital entertainment exhibition held in the nation.

Formerly codenamed Project Morpheus during development, the company first unveiled their VR gear to the world back in March 2014 at the US-based Game Developers Conference.

A Sony's PlayStation virtual reality head-mounted display is on display at a press conference after the device's China launch held in July 27, 2016 in Shanghai. [Photo/chinadaily.com.cn by Liu Zheng]

During the 2015 Electronic Entertainment Expo, or E3, held in Los Angeles, more than 20 demos designed for Project Morpheus were unveiled to the public.

By citing Topology Research Institute's estimate, Xinhua News Agencies noted that Sony will sell 6 million PS VR headsets this year, outperforming its rivals and securing a 67-percent market share.

The VR market in China has witnessed rapid growth since last year.

According to analysts GfK China, as of this May, the overall retail sales volume of VR products reached 1.13 million units. In May alone, 470,000 units were sold, almost as many as were sold in all of last year.

Julian Tan, an analyst at GfK China, said that the high consumption of China's VR content has been driven by VR content development, especially from the gaming and movie industry, which are educating consumers through VR hardware.

"The industry will get more competitive as more global tech savvies come to join the race," said Tan.