Sony PS4 Launch in China Delayed

PS4 Launch in China Delayed

Sony PS4 was scheduled for launch in China on January 11th but the launch was delayed indefinitely. Microsoft endured a last-minute delay of its China launch of the Xbox One in September 2013 as well. Sony has not stated the reason for the delay but odds are strong that it was a regulatory issue, such as one of the many agencies governing games and consoles in China decided they were not done with their review yet. Some say it could be because the PS4 is not region-locked.

Mobile Phone Shipments Slowing Down

A report by the Chinese Academy of Information and Communication (CAICT) said that there were 452 million mobile phones (smartphones and feature phones) shipped to Chinese retailers in 2014 compared to 579 million shipped in 2013. In another story, 94 more iPhones could have entered China had a man who tried to smuggle them by strapping them to his body not gotten caught while doing so. And according to a news item that cities a UBS report, more iPhones (iPhone 6 and 6-plus) were sold in China than in the US last year.

Call of Duty Online Launches in China

Activision has been in development and testing of CODOL in China for a few years now, and finally the company has launched a public open beta test with its operating partner, Tencent. The game is developed in China, for China. The public beta version also introduces cash points in addition to game points, in order to make virtual transactions in the game by using real cash. Tencent has been cracking down on gamers who use plug-ins by banning their accounts and listing them on the CODOL QQ BBS page. VentureBeat cites Niko Partners estimates for China’s PC online games market in the article noting the estimated 2014 PC online games revenue was $14.6 billion with 245 million PC online gamers.