Zee Media Bureau
New Delhi: Microsoft Corporation will finally launch its much talked-about Xbox One game console in China on September 29 after originally scheduling it for September 23.
Though the US tech giant gave no reason for the delay in the launch of the console, the company said on Tuesday that it would launch its product on September 29.
The launch of the Xbox One game console will be the first in the country since China lifted lifted a 14-year ban on sales of foreign games consoles this year.
It is also worth noting here that Microsoft in China is under investigation for suspected anti-trust violation related to Microsoft Offie and Windows operating system, and this delay only adds to the problem that the US software giant faces in the country.
The Xbox One console will cost 3,699 yuan ($602.76) without the Kinect motion detection system and 4,299 yuan ($700.53) with Kinect, Microsoft said.
China is the world`s third-biggest gaming market where revenues grew by more than a third from 2012 to nearly $14 billion last year.
Console games must also get approval from Shanghai`s local culture department, which will ensure they do not harm China`s national unity, territorial integrity or reputation - or promote racial hatred, obscenity, gambling, violence or drugs. This could stop some of video games` biggest franchises, such as Grand Theft Auto and Call of Duty, from being published in China.
"After receiving government approval for the first wave of games, we`ve decided to launch with digital copies of the first 10 games now and will continue our work to bring more blockbuster games and a broad offering of entertainment and app experiences to the platform in the months to come," Enwei Xie, Microsoft`s general manager for Xbox China, said in a press release.
In May, Sony Corp) said it would set up a joint venture with Shanghai Oriental Pearl Group to bring the PlayStation games console to China.
Microsoft makes the Xbox One console with Chinese internet TV set-top box maker BesTV New Media Co Ltd.
With Agency Inputs
