After numerous delays, and a fourteen year long ban on game consoles, US technology giant Microsoft on Monday launched its Xbox One game console in China. It is the first dedicated games console player to have launched in China.
The launch, which was delayed a week for reasons that Microsoft did not reveal, comes as the US company faces a government investigation for alleged “monopoly actions” regarding other products like its flagship Windows operating system, used on the majority of computers in China.
In January, China formally authorised the domestic sale of game consoles made in its first free trade zone (FTZ) in Shanghai, ending a ban in 2000 originally instituted due to worries over content. The FTZ was established exactly a year ago on Monday.
Xbox One, launched on 21 May 2013, is a video game console which was developed and marketed by Microsoft. It is the successor to the Xbox 360 and is the third console in the Xbox family.
It appears that the Xbox One launch was a hit, with multiple midnight launches, long lines, and good sell outs.At a branch of Chinese electronics chain store in downtown Shanghai, sold more than 30 limited-edition consoles priced at 4,299 yuan ($699) after staying open past midnight. A more basic package retails for 3,699 yuan ($602) in China.
If we compare the Xbox website price in China, it is far higher than what it is in United States. It is $400 for the basic console and $500 with Kinect.
According to Microsoft, it has more than 70 titles in the pipeline to bring to China. A rule of the FTZ says, games must pass inspection by cultural authorities, and they can conceivably censor content they believe to be obscene, violent or politically sensitive.
A joint venture of Sony and Chinese tourism and cultural firm Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group is planning to start operations in the FTZ from December.
Microsoft chief executive officer Satya Nadella last week visited China for the first time since taking the post in February, in what Chinese state media portrayed as an attempt to appease regulators over the investigation.