Microsoft is planning to invest $237 million to a Chinese firm and start developing “family games and related services” in order to penetrate the videogame industry in China.
According to the Wall Street Journal, Microsoft is pursuing an investment with BesTV New Media Co., a Chinese Internet TV company.
Game consoles are prohibited in China since 2000 because the government believes that it is too violent which may cause a negative impact on the children’s cognitive development. However, some can still enjoy playing it in public areas such as the malls but has a small following. This is mainly because people prefer to play games at their personal computers and smartphones.
Microsoft did not provide further details about the “family games” but it is most likely to be played using an Xbox console.
Early this year, a proposal in China was filed in hope to lift the restrictions of having game consoles and lessen the restrictions in video games. However, it is still under review and uncertain of the possibilities as there are seven government ministries to be consulted. These ministries are the same people who approved the ban of the gaming consoles in the region 13 years ago.
The Shanghai Free-Trade Zone will be launched in October allowing foreign companies in the area to enjoy special privileges. However, there were no details regarding these special privileges but some were hoping that it will include the sales of gaming consoles.
This recent business plan of Microsoft is quite similar to what it did last year. The technology company partnered with 21Vianet Group, China’s largest private data-center operator, to sell its popular Office and Windows software. The decision came out to reduce the piracy of the said software. The software was uploaded to the operator’s cloud servers and charges the businesses and government agencies for using it.
