Sony to join the game with PS4 consoles

Hot on the heels of Microsoft Corp, which launched its Xbox One game consoles in China last month, Sony Corp is likely to bring Chinese consumers its PlayStation 4 gadgets late this year.

According to a notice on the website of the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone, Sony's facility in the zone, covering some 500 square meters and built with 1 million yuan ($163,100) in investment, will start packing new game consoles for the Chinese market from December, with annual output of about 200,000 units.

The facility will need 20 workers, who will be mainly responsible for unpacking boxes, checking models and amounts, repacking and sales. No large equipment is required for the work.

Masaki Tsukakoshi, a Tokyo-based spokesman for Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, confirmed the document's authenticity but added that the actual production quantities may differ.

Sony did not disclose the exact date when it will release the game console in China.

The 14-year ban on sales of game consoles in China was lifted at the end of last month, marked by the release of the Xbox One on Sept 29 in 4,000 stores.

After the production and sales of consoles were approved in the FTZ last year, Sony quickly took action, with two joint ventures set up in May this year with Shanghai Oriental Pearl Co to prepare for production and sales of the consoles.

Although game consoles are off to a late start in China compared with other countries, their sales will definitely multiply, with revenue amounting to 12 billion yuan this year, according to the Game Publishing Committee of the Chinese Audio-Visual and Digital Publishing Association.

Analysts from market research firm Analysys International said there is huge room for rapid growth, but they also warned of problems such as the homogenization of games and lack of originally developed games, as well as various hardware standards and tighter Internet controls.

Tim Merel, managing director of investment company Digi Capital, said that the new generation of game consoles such as the PS4 and Xbox One have started to address the long-term decline in the sector. But problems remain, including "unavoidable" mobile cannibalization as more attention and money are put into mobile games.

But for Sony, game consoles are one of the business sectors that the company aims to focus on, along with entertainment and mobile devices, according to Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai.

As of Aug 31, which was nine months after the PS4 was released, more than 10 million gadgets had been sold, overtaking sales of similar products from Microsoft and Nintendo Co.

Shuhei Yoshida, president of Sony's Worldwide Studios for Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, said the result has far exceeded the company's expectations, although it is not totally sure of the reason.

A large number of consumers who did not buy a PS3 went directly to the PS4.

Eiichi Katayama, analyst with Bank of America Merrill Lynch, said that Sony is very likely to dominate the game console market, as the company is trying to transform its PS game console department into one that provides all kinds of entertainment products.

shijing@chinadaily.com.cn

Models stand in front of a booth promoting Sony Corp's PlayStation 4 game consoles at the 16th Ani-Com and Games exhibition in Hong Kong on July 25. The Japanese company will bring its PS4 gadgets to Chinese consumers late this year. Agence France-Presse