14 DAY TRIAL // Xbox One was supposed to launch on the Chinese market on September 23, but the team in charge of the platform at Microsoft is now delaying the release until September 29 for unspecified reasons which are somehow linked to the fact that the initial experience for gamers needs to be the best it can be.
Previously, the platform holder explained that it was working with local partner BesTV in order to come up with a complex set of applications created by small developers inside China, which are customized for the potential customer base, and that major titles would get localizations in order to get as many sales as possible.
The company clearly believes that a good Chinese launch for the Xbox One would significantly improve overall sales for the platform, which has been lagging behind the PlayStation 4 on a worldwide level, but there are signs that the market is not ready to support any of the current-gen consoles.
The gray market is very important
At the moment, both the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One are available in China via a secondary market which is not officially sanctioned, with titles apparently offered a few days after they are officially released on Western markets.
Microsoft is hoping that localized versions of the likes of Halo and Forza will attract buyers and the apps designed specifically for Chinese gamers will also have an impact, but the current-gen device will suffer because of its high 3,699 Yuan price tag, which is the equivalent of about 600 dollars (460 Euro).
The company applied a price cut in the West just a few months after launch, where it also eliminated the Kinect motion tracking system early in June, and it might be forced to do the same in China.
Xbox One needs less policy changes
It’s unlikely that Microsoft will offer a clear explanation for the Xbox One delay in China, but the move unfortunately fits with a larger pattern for the company, which has made decisions only to then reverse them or delayed implementation since its new platform was announced early in 2013.
When the console finally arrives in China, sales will probably be underwhelming, as they have already been in Japan, and the company will have to develop and implement another major move that will help it close the sales gap that has been opened up by the PlayStation 4 from Sony.
Rumors suggest that another price cut might be one of the options.