Localization wins the hearts of the people: A comprehensive analysis of the Chinese version of Sony PS4

Since Sony and Shanghai Oriental Pearl held a press conference in Shanghai on December 11 last year to announce detailed information about the Chinese version of PlayStation 4 (PS4), PlayStation Vita (PSV) and game software, this highly anticipated game console and its accompanying games were finally released to mainland Chinese players at 0:00 on March 20, 2015.

Before the release, I believe most players have a general understanding of this device from Sony. So what are its advantages in the competition? Can it attract new users to buy and old users to upgrade? Facing this game console that has just entered the Chinese market, we will lead you to have a deeper understanding of this highly anticipated powerful gaming tool.

Unboxing

The PS4 packaging box includes the Chinese version console, controller, standard headphones, power cord, HDMI cable, camera and related cables.

I believe that players who are familiar with game consoles will be familiar with PS4, and the Chinese version of the console obtained this time is not much different from the international version.

The PS4 adopts a black diamond-shaped streamlined design. The combination of semi-glossy and semi-colored surfaces gives people a new sense of color comfort. At the same time, the SONY and PS4 logos on the front are also absolute symbols of identity.

The two USB ports on the front of the PS4 and the optical drive and power switch on the dividing line do not destroy the artistic beauty of this game console. The hidden heat dissipation vents on the left and right sides also make the design of this PS4 more exquisite. One side also clearly prints the Dolby, Blu-ray, HDMI, DBS LOGO logo.

Observing from the back, there are power, network cable, HDMI and other connection sockets, and you can also see the partial hollow design, which makes the appearance of PS4 more artistic. It is worth mentioning that the three-guarantee service description on the back of this Chinese version is in Chinese, which further proves that this PS4 is designed for Chinese players.

The controller that comes with the device is the well-known Sony DualShock 4. Like the console, the product introduction on the back of this controller is also presented in Chinese.

It is worth mentioning that the camera that comes with this PS4 has a 35° sliding design on the edge, which makes it feel quite novel. However, if there is no bracket, the fixation of this camera is still questionable.

Finally, compared with the impressive console and controller mentioned above, the standard headphones hidden in the box make the PS4 look much inferior. From the appearance, they are not even as good as ordinary mobile phone headphones. Think about it, Sony itself is also a very influential headphone manufacturer. In the selection of PS4 accessories, it should be more generous.

PSN Registration

After connecting the TV and PS4, we officially started our experience journey with the Chinese version of the PS4 game console.

The first time you turn on the PS4 system, of course, you will have to go through a debugging process. After the debugging is completed, you will be prompted to register a PSN account. In fact, you can also postpone the registration. What is worthy of praise from Chinese players is of course that the simplified Chinese localization of the operating interface is very thorough.

One of the most important services that PS4 provides to players is the online gaming experience, so registering for PSN becomes an indispensable experience for players.

Registered players must fill in the correct personal information. From the registration address, it can be seen that the Chinese version of the PSN server has already run the Chinese mainland as a region.

When registering to input Chinese, the input method provided by Sony is very user-friendly. You only need to enter a word, and it can make associations based on the filled content, which is similar to our common mobile phone input method.

PSN accounts need to be authenticated and activated, so the login ID becomes the user's email address.

The determination of player information can also facilitate online communication between players.

Of course, Sony will not let new players have no idea about the PSN they registered for. Simple information will give players the most basic understanding of what PSN can do.

After completing the email activation authentication, users can use the PSN account to experience the online gaming services provided by Sony.

After a series of certification operations, the evaluation room was officially registered to join the domestic PS4 user group, which also proved that the PSN server in mainland China has indeed been opened and operated.

Before entering the PS4 operation interface, since we have already registered a PSN account, let's take a look at the game updates and downloads that are of most concern to players. Sony has set up the PS store, which makes it convenient for players to purchase and download the latest games and patch packages in the PS store.

In the games and additional content, users can see that the prices of some games have been listed, and the randomly included "Nine Yang Magic Skills Pre-release Edition" has been opened for free download. The download speed depends on the user's network speed. Based on our test environment of 20M Unicom broadband, it takes about 40 minutes to download about 3GB of content.

Payment Process

The review room also experienced the online payment function of Sony's Chinese version of PS4.

Of course, we don't have any points in our e-wallet, so we need to recharge it. However, there are only 6 fixed options for the recharge amount, starting at 50 yuan and capped at 1,500 yuan. It seems that if the rich want to recharge 2,000 yuan, they have to do it in two operations.

In terms of recharge options, Sony not only adheres to the usual credit card payment methods of international brands, but also uniquely adds Alipay, which is well known to Chinese players. The third code is just a way to get discounts.

When it comes to payment, we of course choose the most commonly used Alipay payment, and the payment page jumps directly to the PS4 browser. Yes, there is a browser in the PS4.

The setting of scanning code to log in is relatively convenient and quick, but when we scan code to pay, the payment interface is still not on the mobile device.

If you choose to log in by entering your account number, the PS4 input method is not friendly at all. There is no @ symbol in it, and one of the similar icons has been confirmed by the system and does not meet the requirements. Even if you enter the payment link through the system's built-in associative input, the payment password is judged incorrectly three times in a row and the account is locked. This only shows that there is no good connection between PS4 and Alipay.

Having given up on Alipay, we started trying credit card payments, but the data filling process was still frustrating. User names did not support Chinese input, and three street addresses plus township, town, district, and country... Soda, are you checking your household registration?

Fortunately, there is always a way out. At the critical moment, colleagues in the evaluation room thought of using computers to log in to PSN to make payments, and finally put the 50 yuan that they had worked so hard to pay into the pocket of Sony.

It is certainly a good thing that PS4 thinks of the more down-to-earth Alipay in terms of payment, but you are the omnipotent Zodiac. If you don’t optimize the payment process in PS4, we will be unable to buy your games even if we want to.

Interface Operation

Officially entering the PS4 operation interface, except for the global simplified Chinese display, the interface design should be quite familiar to gamers. There are 5 icons for operation below the main interface. Except for the album and content library, the other 3 options require Internet access and logging in with a PSN account to use.

The icons above include nine options: PS store, latest news, friends, information, party, player profile, trophy, settings and power. What makes domestic players feel at ease here is the Chinese translation that conforms to our daily language usage.

Go back to the main interface and select the content library. We can see that this content is actually the total folder that includes the previous 4 icons. At the same time, the directory on the left can find any content we want.

In today's world where wireless life is not as popular as before, I believe that most PS4 users will also use Wi-Fi to connect to the Internet. As can be seen from the network list, PS4 does not support 5G Wi-Fi, which is now very common in high-end electronic products.

Game Experience

After talking about the operation, it's time to talk about games. This time, the games that come with the Chinese version of the PS4 console include "Knack's Adventure", "Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition", "Trials Fusion" and "Rayman Legends". The "Mr. Pumpkin's Adventure" and "Nine Yang Magic Advance Edition" that were supposed to be included need to be obtained on PSN. The additional download of "Mr. Pumpkin's Adventure" requires a payment of 38 yuan. Of course, Chinese buyers through regular channels will get these two games with the product.

The first game that the review room experienced was the well-known "Dynasty Warriors 7: Xtreme Legends Complete Edition". However, this random game was only a review product provided by Sony, not the official version. So the experience may be slightly different.

Before the game starts, eight mantras with Chinese characteristics once again prove that the product's Chinese localization is very good. Of course, the game interface is also displayed in simplified Chinese.

Only when you enter the actual game can you experience the power of the PS4 DualShock 4 controller. The real-time vibration combined with the sound effects emitted by the controller once again brings the sense of immersion in TV games to a new level.

It is a pity that, similar to the current dilemma of Microsoft Xbox One, except for "Dynasty Warriors 7", the other three games launched first on PS4 are more casual in orientation, and the blockbusters that game enthusiasts are looking forward to may require some waiting.

It is worth mentioning that whether or not you are logged in to PSN will also have a certain impact on the game screen, and the background capabilities of PS4 are very weak. Basically, after opening a new program, the background program must be closed, otherwise it will not run.

The highly anticipated domestic game "Nine Yang Magic Skills" has also been made available for free download to players with the arrival of the PS4 console. After the download is complete, players can be the first to enjoy the charm of this domestic masterpiece on PS4.

The game type of this game is similar to the online game "League of Legends", which is an online team competition game. Players need to log in to PSN to play online games with other different players. But the difference is that the picture of "Nine Yang Magic Skills Pre-release" is pure 3D, and the action effects and environment are quite gorgeous.

When entering the game, we can find that everyone's movements, including the players, are very smooth, and there is no frame lag. In addition to the smooth network speed, it also indirectly shows that the network smoothness of the PSN server is very high.

However, in actual operation, the buttons for releasing skills and switching lenses are too complicated. In terms of equipment selection, unlike the horizontal and vertical icon movement of ordinary game controllers, a method similar to that of a computer mouse is chosen, which makes people feel too cumbersome.

In the actual experience in the evaluation room, this game does not feel as powerful as previously advertised. It makes people feel that the work is more focused on the picture quality and the gorgeousness of the skills. After the previous operation mode of mouse and keyboard is changed to a handle, the initial experience is also more complicated. However, after getting familiar with it, this competitive game can still give people a sense of freshness.

Summarize

There is no doubt that the performance of Sony's Chinese version of PS4 is powerful. After our actual operation and experience, we were once again deeply attracted by its stylish appearance and comprehensive functions. In addition, the simplified Chinese localization for domestic users fully demonstrates Sony's adherence to the principle of "everything for players".

Although the newly arrived PS4 still has some way to go in terms of game content and quantity, overall, the Chinese version of the PS4 is still the best choice among the regular purchasing channels in the current domestic game console market.

As a winner of Toutiao's Qingyun Plan and Baijiahao's Bai+ Plan, the 2019 Baidu Digital Author of the Year, the Baijiahao's Most Popular Author in the Technology Field, the 2019 Sogou Technology and Culture Author, and the 2021 Baijiahao Quarterly Influential Creator, he has won many awards, including the 2013 Sohu Best Industry Media Person, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Beijing Third Place, the 2015 Guangmang Experience Award, the 2015 China New Media Entrepreneurship Competition Finals Third Place, and the 2018 Baidu Dynamic Annual Powerful Celebrity.