Microsoft officially confirmed the launch of Xbox One in China this September after the country temporarily lifted a 13-year-long ban on gaming consoles.
Microsoft, the Redmond-based Software Company, announced the launch of its latest next-gen gaming console, Xbox One in China this September. The company sees this as a historic moment as the nation has opened up to allow foreign-made video game consoles for the first time in the last thirteen years. The software giant has partnered with Shanghai-based BesTV, a provider of Internet television services, to set up its Xbox business in China to target an audience of more than half a billion gamers, Microsoft said in a blog post, Tuesday.
The launch of Xbox One in China was first reported by Re/Code and later confirmed by the maker of Xbox in a video on the company's Xbox Wire blog. Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President of Marketing, Strategy and Business for Xbox, expressed excitement at being the first video game console maker to enter China's vast market through the "Shanghai Free Trade Zone," which aims at encouraging new foreign investments.
"Launching Xbox One in China is a significant milestone for us and for the industry, and it's a step forward in our vision to deliver the best games and entertainment experiences to more fans around the world," Mehdi wrote.
In China, gaming consoles made by foreign companies like Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo were banned in 2000. The government reasoned its move as protection against negative impact of such games on the youth. But in September last year, China's State Council established the first free trade test area in the country's largest and most populous city, ending the 13-year-long ban on letting foreign funded companies to sell their gaming consoles directly to the consumers.
Starting September, Microsoft will sell its next-gen gaming console through official channels, a move that will put an end to consumer's dependence on grey market dealers. Despite the national ban, some local consumers purchased Xbox consoles from unofficial dealers that bought the consoles from Japan or Hong Kong and shipped them to China. The dealers reconfigured the Xbox consoles so they could run pirated game discs instead of the original ones, which are comparatively expensive and harder to find.
The decision to let Chinese buyers purchase the Xbox One directly from Microsoft comes with certain limitations. The choice of games offered in the country should be censored, according to Games In Asia, and exclude content that promotes obscenity, drug use, violence, gambling, etc.
Opening retail channels in China will help boost Xbox One sales that have lagged behind its rival PlayStation 4 on a global level. Sony announced recently that its PS4 sales have surpassed seven million units globally, while Microsoft last updated its stats to show five million sold inventory of Xbox One.
