Tatsuo Eguchi
During a visit to ChinaJoy 2023, a gaming event held in Shanghai from July 7 to 28, the opportunity arose to interview Mr. Tatsuo Eguchi, the Chairman & President of Sony Interactive Entertainment Shanghai (SIE Shanghai). When asked about the PlayStation business in the Chinese market, Mr. Eguchi discussed the impact of Genshin Impact.
According to Mr. Eguchi, the PlayStation business in China is steadily growing. While console games used to be regulated by law in China, the regulations have since been relaxed, allowing for the release of the PS4 in 2014. The PS4 had a successful start in China, and the growth rate of PlayStation in the country is currently double that of the same period for the PS4.
PlayStation Booth on ChinaJoy 2023
However, Mr. Eguchi acknowledges that the Chinese game market is still dominated by mobile and PC games. Console games are a minority, and SIE Shanghai is working to promote a new way to play console games in China. They have a section at the PlayStation booth dedicated to "PlayStation PC GAMES," which caters to the Chinese market. While older titles need to go through a review process before being released in China, SIE Shanghai is preparing to release PC titles in the future.
When it comes to the preferences of PS4 and PS5 owners in China, Mr. Eguchi highlights Genshin Impact as one of the most popular titles. Despite mobile and PC games being dominant in China, Genshin Impact is not exclusively playable on PlayStation. However, Chinese gamers, especially the younger generation, have embraced Genshin Impact and enjoy playing it on their mobile devices during spare time. The game's multiplatform nature allows for account sharing, so if players have a PlayStation, they can also play it on a big screen at home.
Tatsuo Eguchi during the interview
In addition to Genshin Impact, other popular titles among Chinese gamers include sports games like soccer and basketball. It's worth noting that Genshin Impact merchandise was not found at ChinaJoy, but Mr. Eguchi mentions that extensive merchandise sales took place at the "Bilibili World" event in Shanghai. SIE Shanghai actively participates in events outside of gaming events as part of its branding efforts.
Source: 4Gamer