Our wait is over: Indonesia finally recognized as a serious game market.

Yesterday Sony Indonesia officially launched PS3 and PSPgo at Kelapa Gading Mal 3 as well as Indonesia's own PSN region.
It could mean nothing for a lot of people, but for gamers, it is the first time that our country finally recognized a serious gaming market. It also means that we are officially supported by Sony as a principal for PS3 and PSP devices, and we might get benefits like others such as official game launch, street date releases, etc.

What could be the reason? After so long, Indonesia hasn't even looked at for a serious gaming market. Most probably because of the alarming rate of piracy and weak IP protection. But in terms of population, Indonesia is a third biggest population in the world, and definitely has a significant gaming market. Given that Blu ray can't be pirated, it seems to be a reasonable business decision to try tap into Indonesian market.

Another valid reason is, PS3 recently reposition itself less as a gaming console, but more as a all in one entertainment device. You can see the some PS3 ads that say "it is only does everything" and saying PS3 as a gaming console, Blu ray player, and movie downloading (currently not available in Indonesia) system.
Combine with current price cut for PS3. Sony is really pushing PS3 to the world.

During the press conference with Mr Yashuda from Sony Computer Entertainment Asia (SCEA), here are the impression of Sony's answer:

- On why Sony decided to launch in Indonesia.
Sony got a lot of requests from Indonesia fan base to launch PS3 slim and PSPgo in Indonesia. And since it is a worldwide launch, Sony feels that it is the right moment to officially introduce its presence in Indonesia, which in turn to provide a better service to its customer.

- On how is Sony going to price the game in Indonesia.
Sony is definitely trying hard to supply all sorts of titles as fast and as competitive as the other countries.

- On Sony message to Indonesian fans.
Mr Yashuda saw a lot of pirated games and accessories even in this very mall, and it is killing the industry. He hoped that public will be more educated about supporting developers and console makers by not buying pirated games and accessories.  In the long term, he expects game education will become more and more popular in universities, and hope in the future local game developers can rise.


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