Microsoft To Delay Xbox One Launch In China


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Microsoft To Delay Xbox One Launch In China
 
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The first mainstream video game console to launch in China in over 13 years has just been delayed. The Xbox One won't be sold in China starting tomorrow?instead, it'll be released sometime before the end of 2014.
 
In a statement put out on Microsoft China's official Sina Blog on Saturday, Microsoft China says that the launch of the Xbox One in the middle kingdom would be pushed back to sometime before the end of the year.
The following are translated excerpts from the official Microsoft Sina Blog.


"Xbox????????????????Xbox One?????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

The Xbox team are eagerly awaiting the official release of the Xbox One in China. Presently, Microsoft and all of our partners are working hard to bring the next generation of gaming and entertainment into everyone's living rooms and start this new page in history...

????????????????????????Xbox One???????????????????????????????Xbox????????????????????????????????Xbox One???????????????????????????????????????????????Xbox One?

Right now, everything is advancing steadily, but to ensure that Chinese gamers can enjoy Xbox One's advanced gaming and entertainment experience, we might need a bit more time to put in the finishing touches. Because Xbox brings together a top notch gaming and entertainment experience, we are very proud, and because of that we will adjust the release date of the Xbox One in China so that we may better fulfill our promise to Chinese gamers. We are currently working hard with BesTV, and expect to have a release of the Chinese Xbox One before the end of the year.


The Xbox One was originally slated to be released in China tomorrow on September 23. Now its release date is TBA.

 

The rest of the Xbox statement talks about numbers and statistics. Microsoft is working with 25 different sales partners within China, with about 4000 physical outlets. The system will launch with about 70 different games.
 
Microsoft has yet to release a list of what titles will be available for the Xbox One in China on release.

Interestingly enough, the statement still mentions the planned Xbox One launch party that takes place tonight. Previously, Microsoft had announced a party in Shanghai to celebrate the release of the Xbox One in China. The party is supposed to continue as a show of support for Chinese gamers interested in the Xbox. An Xbox spokesperson told Kotaku that due to inclement weather, the party might be rescheduled to a later date.

 

There is currently a yellow-level weather alert in Shanghai. Typhoon Fung-wong, which has already resulted in deaths in Taiwan and the Philippines, is expected to hit landfall in Shanghai tonight.

 

The statement also makes mention of Xbox One preorders in China. Supposedly, Microsoft is pleased with the number of pre-sales that have already taken place in China. Interested gamers can still purchase the Xbox One online. When they purchase or pre-order the system, they will be greeted with a screen that says the system will ship before the end of 2014.

 

This sudden change to Microsoft's plans comes at a time when things are "weird" in China. Microsoft had planned to launch the console on the day after the one year anniversary of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone. The head of the Shanghai Free Trade Zone was removed from his position early last week. Microsoft has also been in trouble with Chinese anti-monopoly regulators, their offices in Beijing were raided last month.

All of that said, despite the delay, at least China will one day get a system. On top of that, Microsoft's own Sina Weibo blog posted that gamers who have already preordered the Xbox One will receive two free games when the system does release. So there's that too.
 

Kotaku has also reached out to Sony on its plans for the PS4 in China in relation to the Xbox One delay. Sony did not provide a comment.

 

Source: Kotaku

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I wonder how well the consoles will do in China. I imagine the makers would be salivating at such a huge market.

 

From a few impressions I came across, it's too expensive for many people.

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As an update:
 

The Xbox One Will Be Out in China on September 29

 

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After an inexplicable delay yesterday, today Microsoft announced that the Xbox One will go on sale in China on September 29. Microsoft says it will be the first game console to launch in the mainland in 14 years.

"After receiving government approval for the first wave of games, we will launch with the first 10 games now and continue our work to bring more blockbuster games and a broad offering of entertainment and app experiences to the platform in the weeks and months to come," Enwei Xie, General Manager of Xbox China, said in an official release. "With extraordinary effort and seamless cooperation across parties, we are incredibly excited to deliver Xbox One to fans in China and we welcome them to the Xbox family."

 

The following games will be available at launch: Forza Motorsport 5, Kinect Sports Rivals, Powerstar Golf, Zoo Tycoon, Max: The Curse of Brotherhood, Dance Central Spotlight, Neverwinter Online, Rayman Legends Trials Fusion, and Naughty Kitties from Chinese developer Coconut Island.

 

"This milestone is significant for both our partnership with China and our global expansion plan. Every new market launch is unique and we're grateful to our fans for their patience and enthusiasm throughout the process," added Xbox head Phil Spencer.

 

Until recently, home consoles were banned in China. The ban was lifted in fall 2013.

 

Source: Kotaku

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It'll probably end up being really expensive.

 

Also, I'm sure some Chinese hacker will probably reverse-engineer the Xbox One and make it ten times better than how Microsoft made it.

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As an update:

 

The Xbox One Will Be Out in China on September 29

Haha oh wow, what a delay!

Good to see though, I don't think they can afford to let Sony get the jump on them yet again.

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Haha oh wow, what a delay!

Good to see though, I don't think they can afford to let Sony get the jump on them yet again.

6 days...

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