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Sony's Computer Entertainment division said a
new sale date had not yet been determined, but a company source
in China told Reuters that prolonged negotiations with Chinese
authorities were part of the reason for the delay.
The release would have marked PlayStation's entry into China for
the first time at a moment when loss-making Sony is leaning on
its gaming business to partially offset weakness in its mobile
division.
Beijing lifted a 14-year ban on foreign gaming consoles last
year, paving the way for Sony's rival Microsoft Corp to launch
its newest-generation Xbox in China in September.
Despite being the world's third-largest gaming market, where
gaming revenues hit $15 billion last year, analysts say China
may be a tough market to crack for the console makers because
strict censorship rules that prevent the sale of many popular
titles could make consoles less attractive to gamers.
Sony and Microsoft also face stiff competition from PC and
mobile games, which have dominated the Chinese market in their
14-year absence.
Sony has said it is in the process of applying for licences for
30 games. The company has sought to head off censorship
concerns, saying it is working closely with the government.
"Cooperating with the government, we'll provide a broad range of
content for our users in China," Hiroyuki Oda, head of Asia
business at Sony Computer Entertainment, told reporters in
December.
Sony plans to sell the PlayStation 4 in China for 2,899 yuan
($467), slightly higher than in the United States, where it
sells for around $400. The portable PlayStation Vita has been
priced at 1,299 yuan.
The Xbox, which sells for 3,699 yuan, currently has 10 titles on
sale in China, mainly censor-friendly sporting games such as "Forza
Motorsport 5". Microsoft has not released Xbox sales figures for
China.
($1 = 6.2143 Chinese yuan renminbi)
(Reporting by Kazunori Takada; Writing by Gerry Shih; Editing by
Alan Raybould, Pravin Char and David Evans)
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