After a few months since its initial release, the PlayStation 5 will be introduced to a brand-new yet massive market this year. Specifically, the console is finally heading to mainland China, and will be sold there later within the year.
Stock for both the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S probably will remain low or scarce for a while, and this is partially due to the ongoing pandemic and the fact that there are several issues regarding the consoles’ components.
At the moment, Sony has been having a difficult time trying to meet the demand for the PlayStation 5 in the countries where it’s currently available. Trying to grab a copy of the console has been close to impossible ever since its release last year, and one major cause for this is the scalpers who are quick to purchase the console only to sell them for ridiculously expensive prices.
That being said, it appears that these constantly low PS5 stocks haven’t affected the console’s sales as a whole. Before 2020 came to a close, Sony was already able to sell 4.5 million PS5 units. The incredible demand for this console will only increase as the months go by, especially since more and more exclusive games are expected to release this year.
A couple of months have already passed since the PlayStation 5’s initial launch in November 2020, yet this solid console hasn’t been released in every part of the world just yet. Niko Partners’ Senior Analyst, Daniel Ahmad, recently revealed on Twitter that the console will officially launch in China some time in Q2 2021.
For the unfamiliar, Q2 takes place during the months of April through June, which makes it a pretty narrow release window for those fans in mainland China who have been looking forward to the console’s release. This news was confirmed by Sony China itself, specifically by SIE Shanghai president Tatsuo Eguchi and vice-chairman Soeda Takehito.
The announcement video also features some of the titles that will be available along with the console’s Chinese version. The titles mentioned are Sackboy: A Big Adventure, Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales, Astro’s Playroom, Destruction AllStars, Gran Turismo 7, Horizon Forbidden West, Ratchet & Clank: A Rift Apart, Returnal, and Demon’s Souls.
Sony China has confirmed that it plans to officially launch the PlayStation 5 in Mainland China during Q2 2021.
Tatsuo Eguchi, the president of SIE Shanghai and Soeda Takehito, the vice chairman, confirmed the new today in a special Chinese New Year greetings video. pic.twitter.com/nhFzbZQTGx
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) February 8, 2021
That being said, it’s highly likely that the Chinese version of the PlayStation 5 will only have a limited number of games available, similar to the way the Tencent Switch doesn’t have the console’s complete library of video games.
Of course, the release of this latest generation of console is going to be a big deal for Sony. However, there’s one major question that remains: how will the company release the console into China’s gaming market when it can barely keep up with the console’s current demand in the States?
Sony previously confirmed that it plans to ship out almost 15 million PS5 units this year, and it’s easy to see how China’s massive market will be able to easily help with this goal. Then again, there’s still no guarantee that Sony will be able to achieve these figures, especially since supply is incredibly low.
