Sony set to announce Chinese PS2 launch details

Full details of the delayed launch of the PlayStation 2 in the Chinese marketplace will be announced by Sony China tomorrow, as the company prepares to stake a claim in one of the world's largest emerging markets.

According to news agency Interfax, the company's official announcement tomorrow will set a price for the PS2 at between 1,400 and 1,500 Yuan (â'¬142 to â'¬152), with the console to be bundled with three classic Chinese games at launch.

It's not yet known which games Sony will launch with the system, but Interfax reports that ten flagship retail stores and a number of smaller satellite stores will be opened by Sony in the cities of Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou and Shenzhen by the end of the year.

Sony has had plans to launch the PS2 in China for some time, but the original launch - which was set for early this month - was shelved due to "technical and process issues." Although China is a potentially huge market for videogames, it's a difficult one for any platform holder, as the country is a hotbed of software piracy.

While Sony is planning to launch an existing product into the Chinese market, Nintendo is approaching the problem somewhat differently - with the launch of a budget-priced console called the iQue, which plays converted N64 games downloaded onto an heavily encrypted flash card, a move which the company hopes will bypass conventional channels for pirate goods.