China's Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group Co. Ltd has signed an agreement with Japan's Sony Corp to jointly develop Sony's PlayStation hardware, software, and related services in China.

Under the agreement, the two parties will set up two joint ventures in China (Shanghai) Pilot Free Trade Zone for the manufacturing and marketing of hardware, software, and services of Sony's PlayStation gaming console. One joint venture will have registered capital of CNY10 million, and Oriental Pearl holds a 51% stake while Sony's China arm holds the remaining 49%. The other joint venture will have registered capital of CNY43.8 million, and Oriental Pearl holds a 30% stake while Sony's China arm holds the remaining 70%.

The operating period of the two joint ventures is ten years. They will be responsible for the manufacturing and marketing of gaming devices; marketing, licensing, and wholesales of gaming software; online service consulting and ordinary business consulting services; and technical consulting and services related to game development.

Earlier this year, Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. established its new China strategy unit, which mainly focused on introducing Sony's PlayStation into China.

In September 2013, China's BesTV reached a deal with Microsoft to set up a joint venture with USD79 million investments. On April 30, 2014, the two parties announced plans to release Microsoft's Xbox One in China in September 2014.