wraggster
January 15th, 2007, 19:28
Reuters is quoting unnamed "industry sources" in a story about Microsoft's plans to launch the Xbox 360 in China in "the next few months," possibly in time for February's Chinese New Year. According to the report, Microsoft is in talks with Chinese internet providers and government ministries to get the approvals necessary to import and sell the system in the tightly-controlled country.
It's no secret that Microsoft wants to enter the Chinese market -- they publicly stated as much in 2005 and launched the Xbox 360 in semi-autonomous Hong Kong in early 2006. Getting into China would greatly expand the Xbox 360's quickly growing worldwide footprint, which already includes 36 countries, some of which had never seen a console launch before. Launching in China would also mean dealing with the country's rampant software piracy, a problem that has dogged Chinese releases of the PS2 and PSP. Still, a booming market of over 1.3 billion potential customers is too juicy for Microsoft to pass up.
via joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/15/rumor-chinese-xbox-360-in-next-few-months/)
It's no secret that Microsoft wants to enter the Chinese market -- they publicly stated as much in 2005 and launched the Xbox 360 in semi-autonomous Hong Kong in early 2006. Getting into China would greatly expand the Xbox 360's quickly growing worldwide footprint, which already includes 36 countries, some of which had never seen a console launch before. Launching in China would also mean dealing with the country's rampant software piracy, a problem that has dogged Chinese releases of the PS2 and PSP. Still, a booming market of over 1.3 billion potential customers is too juicy for Microsoft to pass up.
via joystiq (http://www.joystiq.com/2007/01/15/rumor-chinese-xbox-360-in-next-few-months/)