Sony just confirmed today that the PlayStation 4 will be heading to China.

China banned videogame consoles  back in 2000 for the sake of “mental well-being”, “moral decay” and to protect children from “perception of corruption”. China has been a known stickler when it comes to videogames. Xinhua, the State Press Agency of the People’s Republic of China reported console games as “threatening state security, damaging the nation’s glory, disturbing social order and infringing on others’ legitimate rights”. There is a yet-to-be fixed stigma when it comes to certain entertainment media in China. This stigma isn’t uncommon in other parts of the world. China isn’t the only country to denounce videogames. In fact a lot of Eastern countries have actually imposed restrictions, curfews and classification screenings but the almost 14 year ban has been widely seen as the most illogical and unreasonable.

China is a huge potential market for gaming consoles with over $13 billion in gaming revenue made across PC, online and mobile games. Over the years the ban hasn’t stopped bootleg consoles, knock-offs and cheap plug-and-play consoles from entering the lower market but Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo haven’t been able to enter the Chinese market legally.  Finally, the ban was overturned late in October of last year albeit still with some catches and rules with the new market opening.

It has been unclear when official consoles would enter the market after the ban lift, but Microsoft recently announced that the Xbox One would release in September via company BesTV. And today, Sony announced that the PS4 would finally make a debut in China soon. The official release window and price is yet to be announced. Sony will be teaming up with Chinese company, Shanghai Oriental Pearl Culture Development, to oversee the manufacturing process locally in China as well as sales, licensing and distribution. You can probably expect details on the marketing plan soon for both consoles. Considering the circumstances, I wouldn’t expect a price that’s comparable to the MSRP in markets outside of China for either consoles. With import, production, review and marketing issues you can most likely expect a higher price.

Both companies will be working under the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. The overturn and eventual market entry for Microsoft and Sony is a step in the right direction for consumer freedom but you can still expect Chinese authorities to censor anything and everything when it comes to software and content released on both platforms. China has the final say-so on content and with their multiple outcries (such as with BF4) it doesn’t seem like that will change. China drew up plans on censoring console games awhile back. Games have to be approved and any DLC or updates have to approved too. The following content will warrant a game to not pass inspection:

• Gambling-related content or game features
• Anything that violates China’s constitution
• Anything that threatens China’s national unity, sovereignty, or territorial integrity.
• Anything that harms the nation’s reputation, security, or interests.
• Anything that instigates racial/ethnic hatred, or harms ethnic traditions and cultures.
• Anything that violates China’s policy on religion by promoting cults or superstitions.
• Anything that promotes or incites obscenity, drug use, violence, or gambling.
• Anything that harms public ethics or China’s culture and traditions.
• Anything that insults, slanders, or violates the rights of others.
• Other content that violates the law

So basically everything.

Small steps forward are better than no progress at all when it comes to complete consumer freedom in China. China progressively needs to catch up with the rest of the world though, and fast. There is no reason in today’s day and age to have any kind of restriction on entertainment, art, outside media and fictional works.