Sony Computer Entertainment official Yoshiko Furusawa says China's gamers will get a limited release of the Sony PlayStation2 in December 2003.

The consoles will only be sold starting December 20 in some of China's largest urban areas: Beijing, Shanghai, Guangzhou, Shenzhen and Chengdu. The retail price is set for 26000CNY (about US$325) and Sony will introduce about three new games each month.

Sony is wary of the pirated software industry though, and analysts predict slow sales of legitimate Sony game software, as gamers opt instead for cheaper "daoban" or counterfeit copies.

The PlayStation2 started retail sales in Japan in June 2000 and already is available in over 130 nations. Pirated versions of the PlayStation2 have been available in China for some time already.