The PlayStation 4 recently launched in China, after game consoles were banned for the last 14 years. Its competitor, the Xbox One, launched last year, but while the consoles may look and act the same as in the rest of the world, we’ve recently discovered just how many restrictions the Chinese are imposing on the consoles and games.
The PS4 only has six approved games for the Chinese market, the Xbox One has 10. And of those six PS4 games that are allowed, most have been censored in some way by the Chinese authorities.
Online capabilities of both consoles have been severely restricted as well, in order to comply with China’s great firewall (and to block sales of unapproved games).
“Killzone Shadow Fall, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Grand Theft Auto, and Bloodborne, are all banned in China”
Despite officially “allowing” consoles, China limits the functionality of the consoles and what games can be sold. For example, games like Killzone Shadow Fall, Call of Duty, Battlefield, Grand Theft Auto, and Bloodborne, are banned from being sold in China.
We still don’t have a full list of the PS4 games allowed in China, but we know that one of them is Knack — the PS4 platformer that launched with the console in 2013.
The PS4 launched in China earlier this year with a shipment of 200,000 consoles from Sony. The console can (officially) only be purchased in the Shanghai Free Trade Zone, where it retails for 2,900 RMB, or around $470.
However, Chinese games can get their hands on banned games, mainly by buying them in Hong Kong. Since the PlayStation 4 has no region locking, those from mainland China can buy games from video game shops that have smuggled copies into the country, usually from Hong Kong.
If caught with a banned game, the Chinese authorities will confiscate all copies of the game and the console, and impose a fine on the gamer.
http://ps4daily.com/2015/04/the-ps4-is-restricted-to-having-just-6-games-in-china/
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