Chinese gamers hoping to get their hands on an Xbox One on Sept. 23 are out of luck, as Microsoft recently chose to delay the system's launch in the country to an unspecified date. We do know that it is coming this year though, but it would have been much better to know when.
It is no certain why Microsoft has chosen to go this route, as everything seemed to be going fine on the China front. The company made sure to make available 5 million Xbox One system for launch, a clear sign that things are going smoothly and that the company is expecting a big success.
"Despite strong and steady progress, we are going to need a bit more time to deliver the best experiences possible for our fans in China," a Microsoft Spokesperson said in a statement. "At Xbox, we pride ourselves on delivering first-rate gaming and entertainment experiences, and to allow us to deliver on that promise, we need to reschedule the launch of Xbox One."
Although the company is not launching its next generation console in China come Sept. 23, the launch party set for Sept. 22 in Shanghai is still on. We understand that customers who are the first to pre-order Xbox One consoles will still be the first to get them, so buyers should not be worried.
From what Microsoft is saying, it would appear as if some of the 70 games planned for launch are not yet finished, or some China-related features are still taking some time to get up to scratch. Furthermore, it is possible that this delay may have a lot to do with the issues Microsoft is facing in China at the moment.
Entering the Chinese market, Microsoft chose to team up with BesTV, the largest media house in China. The company is also planning to have the Xbox One readily available at 4,000 retail locations throughout the country, which could be the reason for Microsoft to have 5 million Xbox One consoles available for a country that is predominantly PC focused.
Whenever Microsoft launches its console in China, it would be very interesting to see if all 5 million Xbox One devices will be gone within the first month. If that does happen, Sony would be in some serious trouble.
