Insider reveals the truth about PS4 delay: no region lock

The recent uproar over the PS4 unlocking region "report gate" seems to be more like a smokescreen. Recently, a person close to Sony revealed that the main reason for the delay of the PS4 Chinese version is that most of the escorted games have not yet passed the approval.

According to the source, Sony's first batch of games submitted for review included 10 titles, but only two of them passed government approval, and they were both domestic games. The source said that these two domestic games will be bundled with the PS4 for sale. Since the remaining games have not yet passed approval, Sony has to postpone the sale of the Chinese version of the PS4, otherwise the Chinese version of the PS4 will be in an embarrassing situation of being left alone.

The person refused to disclose the specific games Sony submitted for review, but pointed out that the approval process for console games is more complicated than the outside world imagines, and it involves both government factors and developer factors.

"Lotteries and treasure chest openings are factors that domestic developers are more familiar with. In fact, the approval of console games involves many unexpected things, such as "Is the word for the place correct? Does the game dialogue have a Hong Kong or Taiwan accent?"

As for developers, there are significant differences between the development process of foreign console games and domestic online games . A common situation is that after the game is packaged, the production team will turn to other projects or even disband. At this point, it is almost impossible to adjust the Chinese localization and approval process for the Chinese market.

This is also the reason why BesTV and Oriental Pearl have set up permanent personnel in Beijing to handle approval issues. Games need to be submitted for review during the development process.

The PS4 was originally scheduled to be released in China on January 11. On January 8, Sony announced that the release of the PS4 in China was postponed due to "various reasons". According to the Wall Street Journal, the reason for the delay was that "Chinese regulators asked it to adjust its business plan." In China, more people believe that the delay was caused by "not locking the region", and the direct trigger was that players reported to the government that the PS4 was not locked.

Although some players said that the PS4 Chinese version they received was not region locked, Sony's attitude was quite clear: First, the PS4 Chinese version has not been shipped, and the official launch time will be notified separately; second, Sony has repeatedly stated that compliance with relevant national regulations is the prerequisite for the PS4 Chinese version. Third, the region lock issue is always vague. So is it region locked? Anyway, Xbox One is locked, if PS4 is not locked, it may not be so urgent to submit it for review.

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.