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[childplease]

And China just loooooves the US of A?

Don't they love American cars over there ?

Love big suvs and pickup trucks too.

 

[Mario007]

Really? That surprises me. In Australia one of the underlying political themes is about how we have to balance our relationship between the two countries. Because China is one of the main reasons Australia didn't go belly up during the GFC, but the USA is one of our closest allies.
They each don't seem to like the fact we're cozy with the other.

Well there's politics and then there's what people on the street actually think. America through its hollywood culture is well liked among the younger Chinese.

 

[OzPinoy]

Can see where that Santa Monica and High profile Naughty Dogg director money going into. Wage disparity betwen USD to RMB.

 

[boredandlazy]

Well there's politics and then there's what people on the street actually think. America through its hollywood culture is well liked among the younger Chinese.

Yeah, after rereading both of our posts I figured that might be the case.

 

[Nightengale]

Volkswagen wasn't American, last I heard.

 

[travisbickle]

To be fair they do, but that doesn't really matter because the Chinese couldn't give two shits about Microsoft. And the anti-japanese sentiment is really overblown when it comes to consumer goods. Vita, PS3 and PS4 have the most shelf space in the unofficial shops over here.

To be fair you can't equate amount of shelf space to popularity. It would mean Xbox One is really popular in Europe with the amount of shelf space it's taking up.

 

[Omotesando]

Don't they love American cars over there ?

Love big suvs and pickup trucks too.

Nobody loves american cars man, unless you're american.

 

[gruenel]

Before I flew to China you could buy the PS4 almost everywhere in Germany. That was in January.

What?! That's isn't even remotely true.

It's still almost impossible to get a PS4 in Germany right now. Never seen one in store, and online shops don't have any stock either.

 

[Kyoufu]

Before I flew to China you could buy the PS4 almost everywhere in Germany. That was in January.

Germany was New Zealand before New Zealand?

 

[Angelcurio]

We SCEC now. Also is there any possibility this is an april fools joke?

The same thing happened last year when Sony announced the creation of SCEJA, since that was the same day as April's fool too.

 

[nampad]

The platform holders going for China was bound to happen. Curious to see how they will tackle the market and how they will do.

Before I flew to China you could buy the PS4 almost everywhere in Germany. That was in January.

Yeah sure buddy... I'll let this one slide because it is April fools.

 

[Cornbread78]

To be fair you can't equate amount of shelf space to popularity. It would mean Xbox One is really popular in Europe with the amount of shelf space it's taking up.

This is almost always based on how much the company pays the retailer.

 

[KLonso]

I feel like that price of the PS4 will have to be higher in China, because I'm sure Sony knows how rampant piracy is in China

 

[driver116]

Sony Too™

Didn't they announce their intention to enter the Chinese market months (years?) ago?

 

[sechsterangriff]

When is Sony expected to announce the results for the fiscal year ending March 31st ?

 

[Dreamgazer]

When is Sony expected to announce the results for the fiscal year ending March 31st ?

Closing the books and audits takes time.

Their fiscal report usually come in June.

 

[Mario007]

This is almost always based on how much the company pays the retailer.

There being no legit retailers over here just the grey market, I'd say the shelf space allocation is more telling of the demand over here.

 

[spwolf]

Obvious move once China "legalized" consoles recently... with legal sales, they can start working on local partners, marketing, etc, etc, etc.

With black market sales, you cant do any of that.

 

[Chairmanchuck]

What?! That's isn't even remotely true.

Yeah sure buddy... I'll let this one slide because it is April fools.

At least I saw a lot of PS4s in Saturn and Media Markt (Düsseldorf) before I flew and bought some things I needed for my stay here.

Nobody loves american cars man, unless you're american.

Besides german cars there are still a lot of Buicks driving around here.

I feel like that price of the PS4 will have to be higher in China, because I'm sure Sony knows how rampant piracy is in China

Then they will sell even less. Seriously. No one in China, who has a normal chinese income, would pay 400$ for a console.

If they do it right though and maybe offer some good PS+ service, maybe with a little more Games and about 40-50RMB each month, they can fight the piracy effectively I think.

 

[jcm]

Closing the books and audits takes time.

Their fiscal report usually come in June.

No, it's in the first or second week of May. June is the shareholders meeting.

 

[Nightengale]

ally, if they can match current rates of cybercafes, PSNow is arguably Sony's best bet to make a dent in China.

Collaborate with all the biggest internet cafes in China, install Ps4s there as an alternative couch experience, and make a large library of games rentable via a digital Ps4 library, PS3 games via Now, and Ps1/2 games via emulation.

 

[killatopak]

They responded quickly to MS.

Please not be a AF joke.

 

[jcm]

They responded quickly to MS.

Please not be a AF joke.

They've been talking about the importance of China and their intention to sell games there for quite a while.

 

[killatopak]

They've been talking about the importance of China and their intention to sell games there for quite a while.

yeah I just read the thread just now. I didn't know there were plans previously to enter China's market.

 

[jackissocool]

So this is just a business branch, right? This isn't saying there will be Chinese first party studios? That would be super cool and I don't want to get my hopes up.

 

[Mario007]

Then they will sell even less. Seriously. No one in China, who has a normal chinese income, would pay 400$ for a console.

I think this is a great exaggeration. First of all what is normal income in China? Are we talking about the middle class living in the tier 1 cities? (because that's presumably where the market for this thing will be). If so, then there are plenty of people who can and will pay for a 400 dollar console. Hell people pay fuckton of money for iPhones and Galaxies and other eletronics, many of which turn out to be more expensive here than abroad if you work out the currency exchange.

It really all depends how you market this and who Sony wants to target. Let's not forget Sony have 3 products that they can offer in China: PS Vita, which could be midly successful in the tier one cities with the long commutes for people, PS4 which is the top premium device (and importantly a desired foreign product that many Chinese will get simply as a status thing) and then the Vita TV which a cheap micro-console with custom memory cards that help the Vita ecosystem to not be cracked by piracy. Each console offers different things to different markets. I mean even with just the PS4 you've got the 60 dollar boxed retail business (which will really find a market of maybe 100-150 million people max), then there's the growing F2P business on the PS4, PS Plus and also the opportunity to emulate the internet bar culture with PS4s.

This actually brings me onto my other point, and that is what does making consoles legal actually mean in China? Well first off all, proper retail presence. You are basically transitioning from the small shop in the corner into electronics malls where people can see you. Secondly, and again to do with exposure, you've got marketing, letting people actually know about your product which is huge. But I would say the most important thing right now is an online infrastructure. As it stand there is no Chinese PSN but were Sony to launch a Playstation product here a PSN would be created for the region. This is a country where most people love to play interconnected games against each other. Having a unified network where you can fight against your friends similarly as you can do on the computer is huge.


Anyway excuse the rant. I'm actually doing a dissertation on this very topic, so just felt like sharing a bit of my findings.

 

[KoopaTheCasual]

I think this is a great exaggeration. First of all what is normal income in China? Are we talking about the middle class living in the tier 1 cities? (because that's presumably where the market for this thing will be). If so, then there are plenty of people who can and will pay for a 400 dollar console. Hell people pay fuckton of money for iPhones and Galaxies and other eletronics, many of which turn out to be more expensive here than abroad if you work out the currency exchange.

It really all depends how you market this and who Sony wants to target. Let's not forget Sony have 3 products that they can offer in China: PS Vita, which could be midly successful in the tier one cities with the long commutes for people, PS4 which is the top premium device (and importantly a desired foreign product that many Chinese will get simply as a status thing) and then the Vita TV which a cheap micro-console with custom memory cards that help the Vita ecosystem to not be cracked by piracy. Each console offers different things to different markets. I mean even with just the PS4 you've got the 60 dollar boxed retail business (which will really find a market of maybe 100-150 million people max), then there's the growing F2P business on the PS4, PS Plus and also the opportunity to emulate the internet bar culture with PS4s.

This actually brings me onto my other point, and that is what does making consoles legal actually mean in China? Well first off all, proper retail presence. You are basically transitioning from the small shop in the corner into electronics malls where people can see you. Secondly, and again to do with exposure, you've got marketing, letting people actually know about your product which is huge. But I would say the most important thing right now is an online infrastructure. As it stand there is no Chinese PSN but were Sony to launch a Playstation product here a PSN would be created for the region. This is a country where most people love to play interconnected games against each other. Having a unified network where you can fight against your friends similarly as you can do on the computer is huge.


Anyway excuse the rant. I'm actually doing a dissertation on this very topic, so just felt like sharing a bit of my findings.

Thank you for this. So many people brush over the implications of marketing and infrastructure. People say "if you really wanted a PS4 in China, you can get one!" This news is not for those people. This news is for the casual guy/kid, who really doesn't know much of games outside of PCs and phones, and now sees billboards and tv ads for this shiny new gadget.

Will it sell to a billion people? No. But if even this venture can secure a couple million, it's a very worthwhile investment in a rapidly growing market.

 

[Shengar]

Falcom new game will be a great launch/exclusives title considering how popular Falcom IPs there.

 

[Gskyace]

I think this is a great exaggeration. First of all what is normal income in China? Are we talking about the middle class living in the tier 1 cities? (because that's presumably where the market for this thing will be). If so, then there are plenty of people who can and will pay for a 400 dollar console. Hell people pay fuckton of money for iPhones and Galaxies and other eletronics, many of which turn out to be more expensive here than abroad if you work out the currency exchange.

It really all depends how you market this and who Sony wants to target. Let's not forget Sony have 3 products that they can offer in China: PS Vita, which could be midly successful in the tier one cities with the long commutes for people, PS4 which is the top premium device (and importantly a desired foreign product that many Chinese will get simply as a status thing) and then the Vita TV which a cheap micro-console with custom memory cards that help the Vita ecosystem to not be cracked by piracy. Each console offers different things to different markets. I mean even with just the PS4 you've got the 60 dollar boxed retail business (which will really find a market of maybe 100-150 million people max), then there's the growing F2P business on the PS4, PS Plus and also the opportunity to emulate the internet bar culture with PS4s.

This actually brings me onto my other point, and that is what does making consoles legal actually mean in China? Well first off all, proper retail presence. You are basically transitioning from the small shop in the corner into electronics malls where people can see you. Secondly, and again to do with exposure, you've got marketing, letting people actually know about your product which is huge. But I would say the most important thing right now is an online infrastructure. As it stand there is no Chinese PSN but were Sony to launch a Playstation product here a PSN would be created for the region. This is a country where most people love to play interconnected games against each other. Having a unified network where you can fight against your friends similarly as you can do on the computer is huge.


Anyway excuse the rant. I'm actually doing a dissertation on this very topic, so just felt like sharing a bit of my findings.

Great talk, are you in China?