Microsoft Taking Xbox 360 to China?

Microsoft is planning to launch its Xbox 360 gaming console in China within a few months...providing Chinese regulators give their blessing.

Microsoft is apparently working toward launching its Xbox 360 video gaming console in China, assuming it can get a stamp of approval from Chinese authorities and regulators.

According to reports, Microsoft is working with both computer distributors and Internet service providers in mainland China with an eye towards authorizing official sales agents for the gaming system in the country. However, Microsoft is also talking with regulators in China’s culture and information ministries to ascertain whether authorities are comfortable with the product and the content it makes available, as well as the Xbox 360’s integrated Internet and Internet-based multiplayer gaming features and online communities.

When Microsoft introduced the Xbox 360 in 2005, it said it planned to launch the system in China, and the Xbox 360 is available in Hong Kong for about HK$2,400, which is roughly US$300. Although no official timeframes have been released, multiple sources indicate Microsoft would like to begin selling the Xbox 360 in major Chinese cities such as Shanghai in the first quarter of 2007, possibly as soon as the lunar new year (which, in 2007, will occur in the middle of February).

China’s famously pirate-laden software market may be difficult for Microsoft and other video game manufacturers: console makers traditionally don’t make much money on gaming consoles until they reach the end of their lifespans (Sony only started selling the PS2 in China three years ago), instead relying on revenue from publishing software titles to make money off the business. However, in an economy where piracy may seriously undercut software sales, the economic opportunity provided by China’s growing middle class and tech-savvy consumers may be offset by grey markets and domestic piracy.