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Mainland gamers feel Microsoft not playing the game
By Mark South (China Daily)
Updated: 2006-03-11 06:48
SHANGHAI: While Microsoft gears up to launch its Xbox 360 games console in
Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singapore next week, gamers on the Chinese mainland are
being left out in the cold.
The next generation 360, advertised as redefining interactive entertainment,
boasts movie-quality, high-definition graphics and spine-tingling surround
sound. It has been launched to much of the rest of the world. Most recently, the
US$300 console was launched to South Korean gamers at the end of February. Now
with Taiwan, Hong Kong and Singaporean players getting their hands on the
machines from March 16, fans on the mainland are wondering when they will get
their turn.
"I really don't understand why Microsoft won't release the 360 here at the
same time as in other Chinese speaking places," said one Shanghai gamer,
surnamed Du.
Zhu Jun, a 25-year old civil servant, feels the company is neglecting the
potential market. "Microsoft seem to be fairly ignorant of Chinese gamers. I
don't think they've developed any games especially for China. They still need to
translate existing games into Chinese. Also I think they're worried about
piracy," he said.
Comments at the South Korean launch by Microsoft's Alan Bowman, general
manager of entertainment and devices for Asia Pacific and Greater China, hinted
the company was looking at putting the 360 onto the mainland market.
"We're working with the government pretty actively in trying to understand
what we need to do. We're taking a very careful approach to China," he said.
"It's a very controlled environment it's not something you want to rush
into."
Despite the lack of an official launch, 360s imported from Japan are widely
available. At one shop in an electronics mall in Shanghai, an imported basic
Japanese version of the machine was being sold for 3,000 yuan (US$380) with
original games going for around 200 yuan (US$25).
As machines and Chinese language version games become available in Hong Kong,
Taiwan and Singapore, it is likely the number of consoles finding their way into
the mainland will skyrocket, whether there is an official launch or not.
Although the machine is available to those who can afford it, as with
elsewhere in the world, some fans of video games are hedging their bets and want
to wait until Sony's Playstation 3 (PS3) is launched sometime towards the end of
the year before deciding which console to buy.
"Right now the 360 is too expensive and the games available are too limited.
I'll wait till the PS3 comes out, then the price of the 360 will go down and I
can see which is the better choice," said Du.
Sony is keeping tight-lipped about the possibility of the PS3 getting a
launch on the Chinese mainland.
"There are various regulations which limit the game business there," a Sony
spokeswoman told China Daily. "We hope these issues can be cleared up to enable
the launch of the PS3 computer on the Chinese mainland as soon as possible."
(China Daily 03/11/2006 page1)
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