It wasn’t too long ago that the Chinese government finally lifted their decade long ban on video game consoles. What this meant is that consoles from the likes of Nintendo, Sony, and Microsoft could finally be sold in the country legally.
Prior to this, consoles could be bought albeit via gray channel imports meaning that they weren’t exactly legally sold, so issues with the console and attempting to claim warranty could be something of an issue.
Now according to Microsoft, it seems that they’re getting ready to launch the Xbox One console in China although no specific dates have been mentioned. According to Microsoft’s global vice president, Zhang Yaqin (via Global Times), he mentioned that the company would be stepping up its efforts to bring the console to the Chinese market ASAP.
Microsoft has already established a joint venture with Chinese media content provider, BesTV New Media which could help deliver region-specific content to the Xbox One for its Chinese gamers. Sony has yet to launch their PlayStation 4 in China so hopefully this will be able to give Microsoft a head start. As it stands it seems that the Sony PS4 is leading in terms of sales compared to the Xbox One.
Microsoft has stated in the past that they see this more of a marathon compared to a Sprint, but we guess having a head start on the competition couldn’t hurt either.