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Forums - Sony - PS3 coming out in China

 

How much will ps3 sell in China?

less than 5 million 129 38.05%
 
5-10 million 108 31.86%
 
10-20 million 28 8.26%
 
more than 20 million units 73 21.53%
 
Total:338
binary solo on 02 November 2012
kowenicki said:

Average salary about $800 per month, much less in most cities.

50% live below poverty

No history of gaming

Good luck. But yes it will dominate..... In China. So what?

Average income is not really relevant in a country the size of Cina. 1.3 billion people probably means the number of people who have enough disposable income to afford a PS3 (or any console) equals the total population of the USA.

The question really is whether of those who want and can afford a PS3 how many don't already have one despite the PS3 not being available through retail. What is Sony's general reputation in China?



“The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.” - Bertrand Russell

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."

Jimi Hendrix

 

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binary solo on 02 November 2012
hsrob said:
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.

Actually, when PS3 first came out here it pretty much was 1/3 of the median monthly salary. So, if they release PS3 in China for $200 then it'll get sales a bit like PS3 did at launch minus the fact that lots of people already have one (but no doubt bought at an inflated price).



“The fundamental cause of the trouble is that in the modern world the stupid are cocksure while the intelligent are full of doubt.” - Bertrand Russell

"When the power of love overcomes the love of power, the world will know peace."

Jimi Hendrix

 

Cobretti2 on 02 November 2012

wouldn't all the Chinese who can afford a PS3 already imported one?

I know that if I couldn't get a video game console locally that is what I would be doing. I would not wait 6 years into a gaming generation.



 

 

Cobretti2 on 02 November 2012
mjk45 said:
What is forgotten is Hong kong has been a major gateway for Western products , legit and counterfeit into mainland china for most of it's history ,so many would have them already , still this gives them access and they get at least a small slice of the console market and hopefully grow it in future using the perceived advantages of buying legit to take a cut from the grey market , also and this is a long way off but the more western products sold straight up might help with future negotiations with the Government , about patents etc especially if it can in the long term create benefits in the form of tax revenue ,increased retail employment and the like to show that opening up can be more beneficial to the Government , than allowing the black/grey markets to dominate.


Agreed that is may open gateways to more products legally being sold in China,

Also, PS3 is not a western product.



 

 

mjk45 on 02 November 2012
Cobretti2 said:
mjk45 said:
What is forgotten is Hong kong has been a major gateway for Western products , legit and counterfeit into mainland china for most of it's history ,so many would have them already , still this gives them access and they get at least a small slice of the console market and hopefully grow it in future using the perceived advantages of buying legit to take a cut from the grey market , also and this is a long way off but the more western products sold straight up might help with future negotiations with the Government , about patents etc especially if it can in the long term create benefits in the form of tax revenue ,increased retail employment and the like to show that opening up can be more beneficial to the Government , than allowing the black/grey markets to dominate.


Agreed that is may open gateways to more products legally being sold in China,

Also, PS3 is not a western product.

I was using western as a blanket term for imports  that could be loosely termed as being made for or who's primary focus is the  western market ,  even though PS3 is from japan and manufactured in China .



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arcane_chaos on 02 November 2012

some of the responses here seem like this will have almost zero effect on PS3 sales, the PS3 doesn't have to sell wonders but enough to atleast strengthen the brand so that maybe Sony will have better success with future consoles/products, yes the PS3 has been available for years through I believe is called the "grey market" but this can make the PS3 more accessible, maybe Sony can start running ads in China to get the word out that it will be available to more of the masses. China's population is over a billion, will it be that hard to get atleast like 5-10 mil?



steelabhold on 02 November 2012
arcane_chaos said:
some of the responses here seem like this will have almost zero effect on PS3 sales, the PS3 doesn't have to sell wonders but enough to atleast strengthen the brand so that maybe Sony will have better success with future consoles/products, yes the PS3 has been available for years through I believe is called the "grey market" but this can make the to PS3 more accessible, maybe Sony can start running ads in China to get the word out that it will be available to more of the masses. China's population is over a billion, will it be that hard to get atleast like 5-10 mil?


Excellent post.  Thank you. Some sense.



Heavenly_King on 02 November 2012

I really don think so. China is as xenophobic towards japan, as japan is xenophobic towards US consoles.



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Wh1pL4shL1ve_007 on 02 November 2012
pezus said:
VGKing said:
bananaking21 said:


china's online gaming indusrty will be 6.1 billion this year, really dont just assume stuff and underestimate a market because we know little about it. also according to some studies china is the biggest PC gaming market in the world, yup you heard that right! according to studies "China still ranked as the world’s largest gaming market, with 120 million online PC gamers and 160 million mobile gamers.

The US ranked second, with 52 million online PC gamers and 100 million mobile gamers, compared with Taiwan’s 6 million online PC gamers and 9 million mobile gamers"

of course, the market there is complicated and hard to analyse, there is much more to it that meets the eye, but its still a huge potential for sony, or any other compay that enters the chineese market, to sell huge amounts of consoles, check the two links if your free, its quite interesting to see how the chineese market really is

source 

http://massively.joystiq.com/2012/06/06/chinas-online-gaming-industry-booming-6-1-billion-expected-in/

 

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/biz/archives/2012/07/17/2003537923


Well its all just Free To Play with microtransactions......PS3 does have a few free to play games tho but I doubt the Chinese market will go crazy over DC Universe Online, Free Realms or Dust 514.....

If I recall correctly, the largest amount of Eve Online players live in China. 

Those who already had PCs



Yay!!!

WindyCityHeat on 03 November 2012

PS3 is the #1 selling console on the planet & being released in China will only help.

#facts