"By taking advantage of lower production costs in China and selling hardware through our Internet store, we plan to offer special 'added value' hardware packages," announced Sony Computer Entertainment director Kenichi Fukunga. "These bundles will be sold at the existing price of the PlayStation 2 but will include added items such as the Network Adapter. The possibility of packaging popular software titles is also being considered."

No details of any similar package deal in the west have yet been announced, although there is some speculation that E3 in Los Angeles next month may see Sony rolling out a similar bundle for the USA.