PS4 aims for toehold in emerging market

Last year, Sony rolled out a premium Play-Station Now game streaming service in North America for $19.99. This month, it released a console-based pay-TV service, Vue, in New York, Chicago and Philadelphia.

The PS4 is key to Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai's plan to raise profits to the highest level since 1998 by emphasizing games, entertainment and image sensors over consumer electronics.

The console sold 20.2 million units as of March 1, Sony said earlier this month, making it the top seller among the current generation of players. That is compared with 11.6 million for Microsoft's Xbox One and 9.3 million for Nintendo Co's Wii U, according to VGChartz.com.

The console ban helped produce a gray market for game hardware and software in the country, said Lewis Ward, research director for gaming at IDC. Titles that would cost $50 can be bought for a few bucks, one reason why free-to-play games became so popular.

That didn't stop Cao Jiajun, who lined up at Sony's store in Shanghai to buy PS4 game titles.

"The games have actually become affordable to everyone here, because our spending power has increased," the 23-year-old engineer said. "I'd like to have some firsthand experience in stores near my home."

The PS4 will sell for 2,899 yuan and the hand-held Play-Station Vita will cost 1,299 yuan, Sony said. That compares with about 2,400 yuan per capita disposable income for an average urban resident, according to government data.

Microsoft, which in September became the first foreign console vendor to enter China, hasn't released local sales numbers for the Xbox One. Chinese vendors ZTE Corp and TCL Multimedia Technology Holdings Ltd plan rival products.

Xbox players in the country also face a limited game selection, with only 10 released when the console debuted. Microsoft and partner BesTV New Media Co will cooperate with the government to meet regulations, the Redmond, Washington-based company said in an e-mailed statement.

The initial lineup for the PS4 includes Sony's Knack and Square Enix Holdings Co's Final Fantasy. About a dozen more titles await government approval, and Sony is working with 26 Chinese companies to develop games.

"A lot rides on how rich of a software portfolio you can offer to users, so we intend to find the right blend of overseas titles and games developed in China," Soeda said. "We are creating a console market from scratch here."