Microsoft to officially start selling the Xbox One in China this fall

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Games By Russell Holly Apr. 30, 2014 9:01 am
Next-gen consoles haven’t officially been released in China yet, but that doesn’t mean they aren’t available outside of the major retail chains. However, the Chinese government has decided to allow their sale, and Microsoft is going to be the first to market there with the Xbox One come September.
The Xbox One has been lagging behind the PS4 in sales for quite a while now, and while the reasons for this can be debated for days, there’s no arguing with the numbers themselves. Microsoft can do plenty to improve sales in existing markets, and if you’ve been following the Xbox One system updates you’ll see that they are doing exactly that. Expanding to other markets and reaching new audiences is also essential.
In order to hit the ground running, Microsoft has decided to team up with Chinese company BesTV, a subsidiary of home entertainment technology company Shanghai Media Group. Working with a Chinese company will certainly help Microsoft cut through a lot of bureaucracy, as well as taking advantage of their already established links in retail.
Since the Xbox One is designed to be a streaming media power house with an HDMI intercept point for broadcast television, there needed to be a Chinese equivalent to as many of the US services as possible. Microsoft’s partnership with BesTV fills in the gaps as best it can, making sure the Chinese equivalents are available at launch.
September is still quite a ways away, but the console will be available well before Sony is able to launch the PS4 in the region, so there’s a good chance that Microsoft will use this opportunity to help close the gap in console sales.
While the number of consoles sold doesn’t really affect users all that much, a game developer’s decision to produce a game exclusively or for multiple consoles could well depend on sales projections, so it’s something well worth keeping an eye on.



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