Sony's PlayStation 4 begins its manufacturing process this month and will officially launch in China sometime early next year. But due to the gaming company's partnership in China,  the release could be as disastrous as Microsoft's Xbox One, according to Tech in Asia.

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The Xbox One was the first console to launch in China in more than 10 years, but came across several issues. The console was delayed last-minute and was later launched with an overpriced $600 price tag, in addition to the sale of used games being banned and the online services that were advertised has yet to be implemented.

Microsoft agreed to partner up with video streaming company BesTV to help with distribution in China, while Sony has a partnership with tourism company Shanghai Oriental Pearl. But both companies have been subsidiaries of state-owned media company Shanghai Media Group, and last week these companies have reportedly merged together.

This means the PlayStation 4 will essentially launch and operate under the same company as its Xbox One counterpart in China. And Shanghai Media Group chairman Li Ruigang didn't encourage gamers of any changes at a recent press conference.

"Bringing foreign games into the country doesn't make BesTV money, doing development and operating the sales platforms ourselves provides the biggest profits," Li said. "The people who make money selling game discs are companies like Sony and Microsoft, so relying on selling discs is definitely not what we want."

According to a poll of over 5,000 people, nearly 58 percent of Chinese gamers prefer to purchase the PlayStation 4, compared to only about 10 percent for the Xbox One. But the merger between the two companies likely means that the PlayStation 4 will have the same restrictions as the Xbox One in which used game sales are banned in addition to extreme region locking.

"Chinese console gamers who want to play the consoles' most popular hits will likely still be forced to pick up gray-market imports and pirated games rather than purchasing the legal versions of the consoles Shanghai Media Group will be distributing," TechinAsia reports. 

Tagsplaystation 4, sony, Microsoft Xbox one, Chinese gamers, New-Generation Consoles, Shanghai Media Group