Following on the news about pre-orders being made available for the Xbox One in China, Microsoft has officially announced the official release date of the Xbox One in the mainland as September 23rd. The console will be made available for ¥3,699 RMB or roughly $599. The system will launch with just over a handful of games, along with establishing timed exclusivity for Perfect World's Neverwinter Online.
The news was made known on the official Xbox news wire, where the company detailed exactly how their third generation game console will be released and with what products over in the Republic of China.
The system will have first and third-party games made available on the day of launch ranging from ¥99 RMB to ¥249 RMB, which roughly translates into $15 to $40. The console will also have a selection of free-to-play titles at launch, too.
Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice-president, marketing, Devices and Studios, Microsoft commented about the news, saying...
“We’re honored that Xbox One is the first console approved for sale in China through the Shanghai Free Trade Zone,” ... “We’re dedicated to earning millions of fans in China by working with BesTV to deliver an all in one games and entertainment experience starting September 23.”
Microsoft also made it known that they will have 12 of the top software publishers making and distributing games on the Xbox One in the mainland, including but not limited to Electronic Arts – the same company that recently unveiled their EA Access platform exclusively on the Xbox One – 2K Games, and Ubisoft. The aforementioned publishers will be working to bring some of their games to China.
As some of you already know, there are 10 rules of censorship that the software must abide by in order to be widely distributed in the mainland – the rules were setup so that individuals aren't negatively impacted by the media portrayed in the software entertainment titles.
It will be interesting to see how companies like Ubisoft, 2K and EA adapt their non-sports titles to China's rules without completely gutting the games. Many believe that the only company who would likely be able to get through the rules would be Nintendo, given their penchant for keeping many of their first-party outings more family-friendly.
Nevertheless, Zhang Dazhong, senior vice president of Shanghai Media Group and chairman of the board at E-Home Entertainment commented about the release of the Xbox One in the far east, saying...
We’ve been working together with Microsoft for more than a year to prepare for the launch of Xbox One and our organizations share a vision for bringing entertainment and gaming innovation to our consumers,” ... “We are excited to start delivering on that promise and are committed to fostering China’s original game development.”
Speaking of original game development, Microsoft has already enabled the ID@Xbox program for Chinese game developers. This means that anyone living in China will be able to make and distribute their game on the Xbox One, fostering a strong design foundation within the mainland for the Xbox brand.
You can find more details about the Xbox One's launch over on the official Xbox news wire website.
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