Microsoft Delays Xbox One's Launch In China

Microsoft has waited until practically the last possible minute to delay the launch of the Xbox One in China, originally slated to be released this Tuesday, September 23rd. Now they're saying it will be out in the country before the end of the year, though they're rather unclear about the reasons behind the delay.

"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," a Microsoft spokesperson told Polygon. "Working with our partner, BesTV, we look forward to launching in China by the end of this year."

That's essentially nonsense PR jargon, and it's essentially opened the door for all kinds of speculation as to why the launch has been delayed. Many will point to the recent news that the Xbox One arrive in Japan with a thud, selling 23,562 units its first four days. The Xbox has not historically sold great in Japan, but even past iterations have done better than that. The 360 sold 62,135 units in two days after launch in Japan, while the original Xbox moved 123,929 its opening weekend.

This argument is countered by those referencing unconfirmed reports that the Xbox One had 100,000 preorders in China ahead of launch. Still, given Japan's population of 127M compared to China's 1.35B, that may not be the best argument for Chinese interest when you look at both numbers.

I think it likely have less to do with Microsoft fearing the Asian market in general, and more about the complications of a China-specific launch. The country just ended a ban on console sales that lasted well over a decade. China has an enormous, notorious video game black market full of cheap, cracked systems. The complications with being the first new console to launch in China in eons has likely made Microsoft realize they need to figure a few more things out. Still, it's strange that the delay was announced literally three days away from the supposed launch, meaning something rather big must have come up rather quickly.

Worldwide, from the last available data, the Xbox One at 5.1M units sold lags behind both Nintendo's Wii U (6.68M with a year's head start) and Sony's PS4 (10M). Their sales ratios are more balanced in America, which has always had a soft spot for Xbox, but skewed elsewhere in the world, particularly in the Asian and European markets where it's launched. Premiering in China before Sony's PS4 was going to be a way to balance the scales a little bit, even if that only meant adding a few hundred thousand sales off the bat. The PS4 will also make it to China eventually, but there's no release date set for that yet.

For now, the Xbox One launch is in limbo, with those who pre-ordered the console in China will receive a special "bonus gift" for their trouble. Look for more on the new release date once Microsoft figures out their launch issues.

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