Update 10-10-2014: We mistakenly reported that the console will go on sale at Christmastime. Manufacturing, not sales, start then. The article has been edited to reflect this.
Sony will start manufacturing the Playstation 4 in December in China, according to this Bloomberg report. As indicated in a filing on the China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone website, Sony intends to package 200,000 consoles annually. Tokyo-based spokesman for Sony, Masaki Tsukakoshi, confirmed the document’s authenticity with Bloomberg, but said that actual production amounts may differ.
A poll earlier this year indicated that Chinese gamers overwhelmingly prefer the Playstation 4 to the Xbox One, so it’s possible that Sony will be producing more sets than the document states. The Xbox One was decently received in China, selling approximately 100,000 units including preorders on its first day. It was the first console to be sold in the Middle Kingdom in over a decade.
As the first console out of the gate, the Xbox One has had its fair share of blunders. Among the most criminal are region-locks and activation codes for games, shutting down the second-hand market. Sony has already stated it will be doing its best to avoid region-locking issues, so you can probably expect preorders to flood in when its release date and prices are confirmed.
Musings on Microsoft in China:
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