Sony Sees Dollar Signs As China Lifts Console Ban

Sony will be rubbing its hands with glee right now, as a ban in China preventing the sale of foreign video game consoles has been temporarily lifted, opening up an enormous potential market for the PlayStation 4. The law, which had been previously in place for 14 years, had stopped the Japanese manufacturer from offloading its wares in the gargantuan territory, though systems could still be obtained through slightly unsavoury means.

However, global news source Reuters reports that China’s State Council has suspended the block, allowing “foreign invested enterprises” to obtain approval from the government, and sell their devices within the nation. We’re sure that there’s a team within the Japanese manufacturer that’s been on standby should this opportunity arise for some time. In fact, it’s something that group president Andrew House partly acknowledged in an interview with Eurogamer.net.

“Through the course of the PlayStation 3 life cycle, we have in essence opened up new markets globally that weren't open to us before," he said at the company’s next-gen launch event in London. “Latin America wasn't a serious market for console gaming. It certainly is now. We're seeing signs that, finally, China may open up, with the Free Trade Zone being established in Shanghai and the opportunity now to sell consoles in that market.” We bet that the firm can already taste the money.