The PS3 has been readily available in China by import since it's release in all but the very smallest cities. Importing is much more common there relative to Australia, for example, simply because official releases for so many products are significantly delayed. I had numerous students (rich kids) who had PS3s and PSPs within days of their US releases and I lived way, way 'off the map' in central China. There was plenty of awareness among my students of all the consoles but ownership was still very, very low. With this in mind i don't know if availability or accessibility to the product has ever been a big issue.
Price on the other hand is a different story. The city that I lived in was pretty much exactly on the nationwide average in terms of earnings , $700-$800 per month. So even accounting for rapidly expanding wealth you are talking about 1/3-1/2 of an average monthly salary to purchase a PS3 i.e. out of the reach of the average person in China by a significant margin. It's not like the PS3 has finally hit the sweet spot for Chinese buyers, it is still much a purchase for the wealthy.
Imagine dropping the equivalent of several thousand dollars on a 'kids toy' in a population where there is such a huge focus on school studies for all teens and very little time afforded for leisure in the group who would otherwise be most likely, playing games.
On top of that you are competing against the HUGE PC gaming which can be paid for on an hourly basis at the cost of about 30 cents to a dollar per hour (depending on where you live) in the ubiquitous WangBa (internet cafes)
My take: Sony will certainly garner some sales due increased product awareness via official advertising etc. but many of those who want and can afford a PS3 have already gotten them as they've been readily available since release.
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