sony in talks

It was perhaps inevitable that games industry giants should start taking an interest in China the moment the country’s laws changed, permitting the production and sale of video games consoles for the first time in almost a decade and a half, but tech sites and analysts in China are now suggesting that talks held late last year between the Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group and Japan’s Sony Corporation very likely herald the official arrival of PlayStation 4 in China.

Gaming site Games in Asia cites a report stating that officials from Shanghai Oriental Pearl, including board chair Ms. Niu Wei Ping, travelled to Japan to meet with Sony Computer Entertainment’s Hiroshi Kawano late last year. Although the purpose of the visit was allegedly for the Chinese company to learn more about the games industry, tech sites are now reporting that the two companies are likely working together to bring the PlayStation brand to China.

The Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group, a state-owned enterprise, is perhaps best known for its Oriental Pearl Tower, the fifth-tallest broadcasting tower in the world, but the group also has a number of significant media investments and advertising experience, making it more than capable of handling the kind of venture that tech industry analysts are currently speculating.

▼The Oriental Pearl Tower in Shanghai

Screen Shot 2014-01-14 at 11.56.45 AM

As Games in Asia takes care to point out, however, tech sites in China are not known for their reputable reporting, and a number of the sources they link to offer scant detail. We suppose all we can do for now is wait and see, but one thing is certain amidst all of this rumour and speculation: with China finally saying yes to games consoles, there is potentially a vast amount of money to be made by staking an early claim to the “new” territory. We’re sure that Nintendo, Sony and Microsoft are all watching the country very, very closely right now.

Source: Games in Asia
Featured image via Tech in Asia Oriental Pearl Tower image: Wikipedia