Despite the booming online gaming industry and the government ban, large numbers of smuggled or counterfeited recreational machines can be found in China, especially Sony's PlayStation Portables (PSPs), said Cao Di, an industry analyst from iResearch.
He noted that the market share held by illegal consoles is hard to calculate due to scattered and secret selling channels.
Domestic consumers can easily buy PSPs, both authentic and counterfeit, from online shopping platforms like tmall.com, and find free pirated game software on the Internet.
A Tmall retailer told the Global Times on condition of anonymity that his shop prices PSPs at around 200 yuan, and can sell an average of 2,000 units every month.
Sony has always regarded China as a gaming market with potential, and has had some "constructive discussions" with Chinese supervisory authorities, according to a Bloomberg report Monday that cited Satoshi Fukuoka, a spokesman for the company's game unit.
However, the high sales of smuggled consoles mean that international game companies can't be sure of turning a profit in China, even if they can get permission to sell, noted Xue.
He said that large game companies like Sony and Nintendo earn most of their profits from their game software business and not from console sales, while Chinese gamers prefer free game software.
Besides, consoles like the PSP may gradually fade from the global market with the impact of the growing online gaming industry and newly emerging games for tablets such as the iPad, said Xue.
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