Sony moves to begin producing PlayStation hardware for China

Sony revealed plans to bring PlayStation to China back in May, and now it seems the company will begin producing hardware in the region before the end of the year. However, it's yet unclear what exact form that hardware will take; Bloomberg reports that Sony has stated its intent to begin manufacturing consoles for sale in China in a filing [Chinese PDF] published to the Shanghai Free Trade Zone website. The company filed for permission to manufacture hardware in partnership with the Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group in May, and Chinese environmental protection authorities have now approved the request. A Sony spokesperson verified to Bloomberg that the filing was accurate, but offered no further details. Going forward, Sony may choose to follow in Microsoft's footsteps by launching a Chinese version of its extant PlayStation consoles in China, or it may take a page from Nintendo's playbook by building new video game devices specifically for the Chinese market.