The announcement was made through a statement posted to Sony’s Chinese-language Web site, according to the Associated Press, an international newswire. No details were given for why the launch was postponed, beyond "an unfavourable environment", quoted in the report. A Sony spokesman at the Tokyo headquarters of Sony said the company had not been prepared for the launch, but would not comment further.
The Associated Press cited earlier reports that said the PlayStation 2’s advanced computer hardware and some of its graphics functions could have military applications that would prevent export to China under US and Japanese law. However, Sony did not name that as a cause in its announcement.
PlayStation 2 was to be released on a limited basis in Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu. PlayStation 2 has sold over 62 million consoles since it first launched in Japan in March 2000. Production of the earlier model, PlayStation, already takes place in China. Sony has announced plans to later shift PlayStation 2 console production to China as well. The video game division is a highly profitable part of Sony.
The lure of China’s enormous market is dampened by rampant piracy, both of hardware and software. Sony had planned to also offer several new Chinese-language PlayStation games each month, but has delayed those plans due to piracy fears.
While the delay could hurt Sony as it pushes the PlayStation 2 out of the lucrative Christmas shopping window, China is not a strong Christmas market as the tradition has not caught on widely with the associated gift-giving. Instead, shopping peaks during the Lunar New Year holiday which is next month in January, 2004.
