I'm afraid that rally is somewhat right, most Chinese still can't afford that paying 30-35 RMB for a disk on a regular basis. There is however a large group of "middle class" consumers in the cities that could afford it, but will still continue to buy the pirated versions for 6 to 15 RMB per disk. Very few people see the value of having a legal version, this isn't a "status" purchase, and if you are buying a lot of discs, 20+ rmb in savings per disk adds up.

Think about it - why would you make a trip to some big box chain to buy dvd's when you can just grab a perfectly good copy of the latest hollywood blockbuster for under 10 rmb on the street on your commute home from work.

Even if you want to buy a legal copy, it is often hard to find locations that have them and there is less selection, since not all studios are running this type of program. I think that if the studios really want to compete with the fakes, they need to charge 20 RMB per disk, increase the amount of retail presence and all studios need to participate.

And as always, the pirated disks are still available everywhere, even in BJ and Shanghai.