The Xbox One is the first gaming console to go on sale in China in over 14 years. Microsoft can take pride in being the first company to launch a console there in over a decade, but there’s even more good news for the company. No less than 100.000 Xbox One units were shipped just on launch day, although some reports are claiming that this actually represents the number of sold consoles. In any case, the figure is nothing to sneeze at and will bring the Xbox One a bit closer in its race against the PS4. Moreover, the console already shipped way more units than it did in Japan on launch day so Microsoft is definitely on the right track here.
Granted, this is the first console to launch in China in a long time so it shouldn’t surprise anyone that it’s already becoming a big deal over there. And this is despite the fact that the Xbox One only launched with 10 games and the console is more expensive in China than in many other places. A console that includes the Kinect costs 4,299 CNY ($700), while the Kinect-free version is priced at 3,699 CNY ($600). As for the games, the Xbox One launched in China with the following titles: Dance Central Spotlight, Forza Motorsport 5, Kinect Sports Rivals, Max: The Curse of Brotherhood, Naughty Kitties , Neverwinter Online, Powerstar Golf, Rayman Legends, Trials Fusion and Zoo Tycoon. The lack of games at launch can be attributed to the fact that the Chinese government must approve each and every game before it can go on sale and so far it only approved 10.
The good news is that more games are bound to be released in the coming weeks and months. Microsoft’s Phil Spencer revealed that more than 70 titles are currently “in the pipeline for approval.” Stay tuned for more news and updates.