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Microsoft and Sony's global battle for gaming dominance is about to spill over into China. After the country's longstanding ban on home consoles was lifted earlier this year, Microsoft announced it'll start local sales of the Xbox One in September, and now Sony's putting plans in motion to do the same with its PlayStation. Documents filed with the Shanghai Stock Exchange show Sony has set up a pair of joint ventures with Shanghai companies for the production and sale of PlayStation hardware and software.
"Quality, healthy games that are suitable to China's national conditions."
In the wake of the ban lifting in January, all Sony had to say was that China is "a promising market," but there were no concrete plans on how to address it. The company remains cagey today, refusing to divulge details on the particular timing or devices it has in mind. It's reasonable to expect that the PS4 is the subject of all this commotion, though there's also the possibility of Sony developing a custom solution in the same way that Nintendo is doing with the Wii U.
As Engadget also notes, Sony's announcement promises to "introduce quality, healthy games that are suitable to China's national conditions and the preferences of domestic players, as according to the relevant government policies." That suggests that at least the software half of the equation will be tailored to China's particular circumstances.
