PS4 Delayed in China

Sony has called off launch plans for its PlayStation 4 in China, just days before the console was set to be sold across the country.

The corporation said it needs to cancel the launch, scheduled for January 11, due to "various factors." A new release date has not yet been confirmed, nor has the company offered an idea of when the system will arrive in the country.

According to a purported company source based in China, speaking to Reuters, the cancelled launch is due to prolonged negotiations with Chinese authorities. If it had gone ahead, the release would have marked the first time a PlayStation console was officially sold in the country.

Last year, state officials in Beijing brought an end to a 14-year ban on selling foreign games consoles. China implemented the sanction back in 2000 over concerns that video games could negatively impact the physical and mental development of children.

Just months after Beijing announced it was prepared to lift its games console ban, both Sony and Microsoft announced plans to launch the PS4 and Xbox One in the potentially lucrative market.

Microsoft released the Xbox One in China on September 29. The country, with an estimated population of 1.35 billion people, is considered to be the world's third-largest games market, with annual revenues believed to be as high as $15 billion.