Microsoft Corp. made an e-mailed statement yesterday, revealing that it will start offering its Chinese customers the Xbox One video-game console in September this year. This is going to happen about 8 months after the ban imposed by the Chinese regulatory authorities was lifted in January 2014. The ban was imposed by regulators 13 years ago, because of their concern about the impact video games may have on young users and the company faced scrutiny over its products.
As reported by the Wall Street Journal, the corporate vice president for marketing and strategy in the devices and studios unit – Yusuf Mehdi wrote in a blog post: “Launching Xbox One in China is a significant milestone for us and for the industry.” The Financial Times also cited part of Mr. Mehdis blog post: “The culture of games and entertainment is rapidly growing in China, with nearly half a billion people playing games – roughly a third of the country’s population and more than the entire population of North America.”
The Xbox console will be available through BesTV New Media Co., which is a Microsofts partner. The company didnt reveal the prices of the device for the Chinese market, neither the game titles it plans to release in China.
Last September, Microsoft and BesTV New Media Co., which is one of the units of Shanghai Media Group Inc. created a venture estimated to about 79 million dollars, whose paramount goal was setting foot on the Chinese market. About 38.7 million dollars were invested by Microsoft Corp. for a 49% stake in the joint venture. BesTV paid 40.3 million dollars for the larger, 51% stake.
In its statement, which was cited by Bloomberg, it said that the joint venture tries to “establish an innovation program that will enable creators and developers to build, publish, and sell their games on Xbox One in China”.
The sale and distribution of the Xbox One device is a major step for Microsoft in China, which is considered a promising, but also challenging and highly-competitive market. According to PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, the video-game business in the country will reach about 10 billion dollars in sales in 2015.
Microsoft Corp. lost 0.88% to close at 40.51 dollars per share yesterday, marking a one-year change of +24.23%. According to the information published on CNN Money, the 27 analysts offering 12-month price forecasts for Microsoft Corp. have a median target of 42.00, with a high estimate of 50.00 and a low estimate of 33.00. The median estimate represents a +3.68% increase from the last price of 30.51.
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