Chinese analyst: Xbox 360 will fail
by Blake Snow 
{ Jan 20th 2006 at 5:00AM }
A Chinese analyst predicts that the Xbox
360 will perform poorly when the console is shipped to China. The analyst, Jun Tang, cites the following two reasons:- The Xbox360 has little diversity in games. "While FPSs and popular sports titles sell like hotcakes in North America, they won't fare so well in China."
- The Xbox360 is extremely expensive for Chinese consumers. "As a result, Tang says, the market for the Xbox360 won't be good in China for a timespan of about 2 to 3 years."
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
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Ken @ Jan 20th 2006 5:26AM
I don't know much, but I don't think so.
They are important, but I don't think they planned their business model in a way that China is seen as priority, so if it doesn't sell well then oh well, that sucks. But if it does then its a pleasant suprise with enormous potential later on given the size the of the market.
neale @ Jan 20th 2006 5:28AM
like japan, who actually cares if it sells well.
okay, so chinas massive with loads of people, be good for their market and $$$
Meh i love candy @ Jan 20th 2006 5:31AM
Not trying to be racist or anything...but chinese people really dont contribute to the gaming industry besides being minor consumers. There are only a few game companies(Shanghai Ubisoft). Besides, piracy is a major problem in china and alot of chinese people won't be able to afford next gen consoles because of their low income
anon @ Jan 20th 2006 5:35AM
tang jun is not an analyst. he is the president of shanda, china's largest online game company
SOAD @ Jan 20th 2006 5:40AM
Only time will tell....
Snake2k9 @ Jan 20th 2006 5:50AM
Chinese analyst: PS3 will fail
Zero_ @ Jan 20th 2006 5:51AM
This isn't a racist remark, but China in general, isn't good for video games. Most consoles sell at a loss, so companies such as Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo must rely on the sales of games and peripherals (And in the case of the 360, LIVE), and well, a large majority of console owners in China pirate their games, so no profit for the companies.
SOAD @ Jan 20th 2006 6:00AM
well if the 360 will fail, then i guess so will the PS3
Skull_Duggery @ Jan 20th 2006 6:02AM
The Chinese not important to "video game" business? Maybe not racist, but certainly ignorant. Currently Asia in general prefers PC video games and not consoles, and in that area they lead. Korea doesn't host the international video game olympics for nothing, you know. As for consoles selling there and the importance to 360 strategy? Probably close enough...and we can add that XBox live is quite uninteresting to consumers as well as difficult because of regulations.
Still, hope it comes here faster than two-three years! I need my Xbox fix!
Stefano @ Jan 20th 2006 6:20AM
1) How can the judge the realease list of a console that just launched?
2) If Xbox360 will fail for the price, PS3, that won't be cheaper, will fail too?
DeathX @ Jan 20th 2006 6:22AM
I think that Microsoft should try to target every country that it possibly can. For example Neale, you said that "like japan, who actually cares if it sells well." which is a typical comment from an American so I'll continue.
In answer to your question Microsoft does. Look at the figures: Japan's population 127,417,244. Percentage of the population which play games: 37% http://www.gamespot.com/news/2004/04/26/news_6094601.html
So 37% of 127,000,000 is 46,990,000 and if Microsoft got just half of that they would sell 23 million consoles. To put this in perspective the original Xbox sold 13.5 million units in the US.
Now lets say that they do better this time around and sell 20 million in the US. If they sell in Japan to half of the game players there they more than double the number of consoles which are in homes.
Now yes, that is Japan but its a similar senario in China. They have 1.3 billion people with a gaming pop of 20 million, http://english.people.com.cn/200506/30/eng20050630_193353.html sell to half, another 10 million. Microsoft wants, dare I say needs these territories to be in the running with Sony and Nintendo for Majority market share.
AssemblyLineHuman @ Jan 20th 2006 6:31AM
Skull_Duggery, South Korea != China. China is one country, and from what I have heard (from people who live in China) is that piracy IS a major problem there, and most people will not pay full price for a non-pirated game when they have a variety of PC games that they can get for the equivalent of one or two US dollars.
NergiZed @ Jan 20th 2006 6:32AM
Pfft, The only console that actually sold AT ALL is the PS2, you know why? Cause it was easily pirated. Now even though it sold I'm not saying every other Chinese kid has a PS2, more like every one out of tenthousand have a PS2, maybe less. In China you can buy ANY Game, Movie, or Anime series for under a dollar per disc, unless it's DVD-9, or something of higher capacity than the normal 4.7 Gig ones.
And the PS2 that are sold over there probably aren't legal, the Chinese probably made them then sold them for a fraction of the actual price (but still making a profit). I bought my first GBA over there when it first came out cost me a little under 40 bucks.
No Gaming console will EVER do good in China unless the games and consoles are easily pirated. No next gen console is going to do good in China.
Zero_ @ Jan 20th 2006 6:42AM
"The Chinese not important to "video game" business? Maybe not racist, but certainly ignorant. Currently Asia in general prefers PC video games and not consoles, and in that area they lead. Korea doesn't host the international video game olympics for nothing, you know."
I didn't say Asia, I stated China, where a majority of it's console games are pirated.
rudimentalist @ Jan 20th 2006 6:59AM
Some RTS games for 360 could raise the popularity of the system in China, they would have to be killer-apps though, and probably exclusives
x23 @ Jan 20th 2006 7:00AM
"Now yes, that is Japan but its a similar senario in China."
why? because all asians are the same? just because both the chinese and japanese have mr. spock haircuts doesn't make them remotely similar. racist prick. i suppose anyone with slightly browned skin are basically all the same as well? or anyone who is white? that's like assuming since people in the US like the Xbox 360... that naturally the market will be exactly the same in Germany.
kizza @ Jan 20th 2006 7:23AM
Its obvious that MS are failing to capatalise on what these countries want out of their games. japanese & Chinese want more diversity than just fps's, racers & fighters. And never has this genre deadlock reigned so true on any other console. Sure PS1, Dreamcast, snes & most consoles are flooded with these most popular titles. but the difference is that they all had killer rpg's, killer platformers, killer unique quirky games. The 360 needs to come up with it's own parappa the rappa, or ico, or pikimon, etc, etc, cause at the moment MS have shown pretty graphics on bog standard games & well worn genres (like stealth for example).
They need unique titles to sell to these countries. Hell, even I like to be immersed in a game that is different to all the rest of the usual suspects.
They'll never outdo FPS's for the pc that were invented for the pc, that will look better than next gen console FPS's with an updated graphics card.
Certain games on console are the same & cannot be replicated as good on a pc (for control reasons or whatever) as they were made for use on consoles.
the one @ Jan 20th 2006 7:29AM
by the time it releases in china the price will be lower and it will have a greater diversity of games. Anyways the playstation3 will probably be pricier. That analyst is full of you know what.Why even post this as news, i'm beginig to think that most multiconsole news sites are biased.
the one @ Jan 20th 2006 7:46AM
by the way if you want to know the true reason for the shortages of 360s click here and read post #16 (copy and paste)
http://messageboards.aol.com/aol/en_us/articles.php?boardId=554508&articleNum=508&forward=true&listPos=_articleId:16:5857098441223588_threadId:16:6821370138777614_pageNum:1:4&func=6&on_page=4&filterRead=false&filterHidden=true&filterUnhidden=false
jromz03 @ Jan 20th 2006 8:04AM
He should wait for the competition to catch up and then see the situation again.
For now, MS believes they own the next-gen because they're the only one. So we get an expensive console. Scary to this what happens if MS leads this gen.
Once the PS3 and the Rev is out, and competition is in full swing with price-drops on games and consoles maybe it'll be more affordable not just for the Chinese but for everyone.
End result, everyone's happy.
C. Grant @ Jan 20th 2006 8:15AM
Last I checked the only console company brave enough to tread into China was Nintendo with their unique iQue system. Since it relies on games to be downloaded to the unit, they hoped to prevent the rampant piracy that has prevented China from being as lucrative a market as it could be. Not sure how its worked out. Anyone know?
Zsavior @ Jan 20th 2006 8:30AM
I don't think people really grasp what they read or see I am not saying everybody just some. No matter what price drop comes Xbox won't sell in these countries because of the games, I don't think people are really taking that into consideration. And I think that Is MS frame of mind also. Everytime something comes out whether it be china or Japan, not buying the xbox 360 I seen either insult bigotry or people going "no the system isnt in full release yet". We point the finger at other lands on their nationalistic pride but just reading alot of these post it is worst here. Games WE Play DOn't Appeal To the Chinese and Japanese like they appeal here. I don't see how this is confusing? Korea Games HARD! When I was playing World Of Warcraft here in America where we got the release first, they had already FINSIHED the end game instance that takes atleast a whole week or more to do after you get to the highest lvl your character can go in the game with the greatest armor they can use. Over a billion potential gamers is a big Deal.
I just don't get it week in week out asia rejects the games, and everything else is blamed other than the games, does MS think they can hype them into liking their games? Ignoring these facts when we read them isn't going to make the situation for MS better. They have a horrible launch: Excuse "Well there was a shortage" they sell bad in japan : "OH They Don't like American products/ They only like Gimmicky systems". What is next they Over heat cause of Global warming?
I mean damn, get some sort of clue, higher scooby do FREAKING SOMETHING.
This is the type of american metallity that MS is also showing where they are saying "YOU MUST LIKE WHAT WE LIKE BECAUSE WE ARE SO GREAT". Just look at the way MS handles a shortage and Nintendo does it will tell you everything, Japanese console companies have understood this fact FOR YEARS! THis will sell here and not there, I don't understand why MS thinks it must be different for them and just sell the same thing to every one.
the one @ Jan 20th 2006 8:36AM
i dont think its expensive the console alone cost more than $400 to make and you get other accessories too. I wonder if you would say the same of sony if they launched at $400 or more.
DeathX @ Jan 20th 2006 8:41AM
X23 - "why? because all asians are the same? just because both the chinese and japanese have mr. spock haircuts doesn't make them remotely similar. racist prick. i suppose anyone with slightly browned skin are basically all the same as well? or anyone who is white? that's like assuming since people in the US like the Xbox 360... that naturally the market will be exactly the same in Germany." Whoa, calm down. I didnt say anything which you have accused me off. I myself live in Australia where the imigration rate from Asian nations is very high and 2 of my very best friends have heritage in an Asian nation. Yet you still call me a 'racist prick'.
Tell me, if you replace every 'Japan' in that post with 'US' and every 'China' with 'Canada' and assumed that we lived in a non english country and were speaking a different lanugage, appart from not being true statisitcally it would make perfect sense. I was mearly comparing China and Japan because the Xbox 360 is not/will not sell well in either of those countries and that is revenue lost for Microsoft, which is what this topic is about.
"just because both the chinese and japanese have mr. spock haircuts doesn't make them remotely similar" Now, ignoring that you yourself are making a ridiculus generalisation, I never said that they were the same. I was presented information: This article "360 not going to sell well in China" and the retail information that the 360 did not sell well in Japan. Then I said that Microsoft should try harder to sell to them as they are missing out on many potential sales.
"that's like assuming since people in the US like the Xbox 360... that naturally the market will be exactly the same in Germany." - I'm not assuming, I've been given facts and I'm commenting on them. I look at articles like this and sale numbers in places like the US, Japan and Europe.
Now, I could say that the 360 is selling well in the US and in Greece and that Microsoft has done well targeting them. Would that make me a 'racist prick'for saying that? And if so, please enlighten me.
LMAO @ Jan 20th 2006 8:50AM
Yeah, the games are not diversified enough for the Asian nations...yeah right. Japan - RPG freaks. China/S.Korea - MMORPG freaks. You call that diversified? I think the main problem is that they're not willing to expand their gaming profiles.
All MS or Sony need is Blizzard and NCSoft to developed WOW and Guild Wars for Xbox360/PS3 to sell millions.
Oh by the way, I am an Asian american.
Chris @ Jan 20th 2006 9:28AM
Korean Analyst: Xbox 360 will prosper! But only with the inclusion of a MMORPG that hundred of thousand Koreans can hack away at for 22/7!
kizza @ Jan 20th 2006 9:46AM
More american than asian anyomre. I worked in hong kong & have seen a lot of asians of chinese decent playing arcade games. They tend to still ike 2d fighters & top down shooters in a big way, but I would not categorise them based on waht I've seen. Sure japanese love their rpg's, but you little sellout american whore, they also like games like katamri darcy, MGS, Ico, Parappa the rapper, mario, etc,etc. Just because your an asian american, it doesn't make you an expert on both nations gaming habits.
And why do you think a lot of publishers are hesitant to bring out innovative different japanese games? Because past instances in america have shown that ignorant yanks wont expand their gaming tastes & are too afraid to reach out for a new experience, which in most cases does not involve excessive violence.
Each to their own, but I'm an aussie looking from outside the fishbowl in, & even to me MS have not done enough with unique groundbreaking games on either xbox or the 360 to break into these asian markets. You've been americanised & are looking through star spangles banner eyes. If you enjoy western style games then fair enough, but don't accuse easterners of being too narrow minded when it comes to game choices, as I find that very hypocritically & proves american, pigheaded stupidity wins the day again.
Go vote for Bush again, theres plenty more countries out there he can invade for their natural resources, then lie to the world about why he's there.
Curry @ Jan 20th 2006 9:52AM
What do they mean "ship to China". I thought they'd been shipping them FROM China for the last few months now.
Zsavior @ Jan 20th 2006 9:59AM
KIZZA YOU MY MUTHA F'N HERO! I bet your tears Cure Cancer But you Never CRY EVER!
Kevin D @ Jan 20th 2006 10:56AM
Kizza, you're a dickhead.... Plain and simple...
If it wasn't for the USA/Canada/Britain, you'd have a freakin Japanese flag flying over you're little aussie Island BIATCH...
And it was only 50 years ago (not that long ago)...
You people always amaze me... You love the freedom, but dont remember who gave you that freedom....
Pixelantes Anonymous @ Jan 20th 2006 12:12PM
How many consoles are sold in China annually? How many non-pirated games are sold in China annually?
I'm going to hazard a guess and say, not too many. If that's the case, then China really doesn't matter to any console manufacturer, AT THIS POINT. That might change sometime in the future, and probably will.
pennywise969 @ Jan 20th 2006 12:16PM
We cant vote for Bush again, he already won twice, he cant run again.
There are a lot of games in the pipeline that will probobly appeal to Asians more. Im willing to bet that things will look a lot better by the late summer/early fall. They will have 99 nights, Frame City Killer, Chromehounds, Oblivion by then, assuming that there are no major delays between now and then. Also, Blazing Angels: Squadrons of WWII looks interesting. This is probobly a dumb question, but would a flying combat game appeal to the Asian market?
Just my 2 cents.
Barabas @ Jan 20th 2006 12:39PM
Xbox 360 expensive for chinese?, what about PS3? wont Sony be more expensive?, By the time the 360 is sold in China won't they have a greater divversion in games. How many games does Sony PS3 or Nintendo Rev. have at this time that this guy knows about to make a non-bias decision.
Rocket Punch @ Jan 20th 2006 1:19PM
To whomever who said China is only a "minor consumer" in gaming. I have an advice for you. Read more, reading is good for you: http://www.gamesindustry.biz/news.php?aid=10261.
To whomever who said China did not contribute to the gaming industry at all other than piracy. Did you know who actually made those consoles??? CHINA!!! DING DING DING DING DING.............
gumbico @ Jan 20th 2006 1:19PM
bah, just release dynasty warriors 6 with recorded mandarin voices (better remove the option for Japanese voices) and ride the money train.
as for piracy, aren't westerners the ones that spawned P2P and everyother online method to pirate music, movies, and games? this is the pot calling the kettle black, no?
and for the topic, it doesn't matter if the 360 bombs in China. MS will release another iteration of their console until they:
1) succeed and be the #1 console
2) get legally barred from making consoles
3) run out of money
Past behavior is the best predictor of future behavior. The Xbox didn't take #1 while MS bled money (xbox division), yet we have the 360. So, my guess is we will see another console from MS regardless of where it succeeds or fails. However, Nintendo didn't become #1 but still made money. So somebody is definitely doing something wrong.
johnjacob @ Jan 20th 2006 4:18PM
Quote from Peter Moore:
Let me be clear on the Core System. The Core System is built when we look at a five-to-ten year strategy and we roll out what we need to be in 2007, 8, 9, and 10. We need both features and price to be on our side. And the Core System gives us that ability to use price on our side. Don't think of it for the Japanese market, or even the U.S. market, but think of it for markets that, A), got to go into China--price is an issue. Got to go into Russia. Got to go into India. Got to go into Poland, Hungary, Latvia. Those are markets we're going in. We're going to globalize this industry, and price becomes a big issue. The other thing, when you look at Xbox 1, having that hard drive built in cost us a lot of money. Not having the flexibility for a more casual gamer down the line, to sell them an Xbox for $79 that doesn't have a hard drive. Doesn't have it, but I'm just gonna go buy an MU and I'm as happy as a pig in you-know-what playing.
johnjacob @ Jan 20th 2006 4:30PM
Quote from Peter Moore:
Let me be clear on the Core System. The Core System is built when we look at a five-to-ten year strategy and we roll out what we need to be in 2007, 8, 9, and 10. We need both features and price to be on our side. And the Core System gives us that ability to use price on our side. Don't think of it for the Japanese market, or even the U.S. market, but think of it for markets that, A), got to go into China--price is an issue. Got to go into Russia. Got to go into India. Got to go into Poland, Hungary, Latvia. Those are markets we're going in. We're going to globalize this industry, and price becomes a big issue. The other thing, when you look at Xbox 1, having that hard drive built in cost us a lot of money. Not having the flexibility for a more casual gamer down the line, to sell them an Xbox for $79 that doesn't have a hard drive. Doesn't have it, but I'm just gonna go buy an MU and I'm as happy as a pig in you-know-what playing.
pennywise969 @ Jan 20th 2006 7:57PM
and Aussies use boomerangs and boomerangs are awesome.
vaylen @ Jan 20th 2006 8:09PM
Since the PS3 will have the toughest copy-protection scheme to crack, I'd say it's going to do horrible in China. Which is good news for Sony. Let the other companies sell their hardware at a loss in China so they can play all their pirated games on them. Keep your eyes on the prize, people. It's the sales of GAMES these companies care about, NOT consoles!
RJ @ Jan 20th 2006 8:43PM
kizza ur a chammmmp and ur 100% right. Espicially after i watched Supersize ME yesterday. Fat Fucks.
bearattack79 @ Jan 20th 2006 9:18PM
KIZZA KIZZA _ I was wrong about you, Im starting to like you. Sorry for giving you the gears a few weeks ago. I was reading you wrong. Cheers from Canada!!!
MuddBoggr @ Jan 20th 2006 9:44PM
Kizza, you are an ignorant fool. You claim to know so much more about the world than Americans, yet you are totally ignorant of America.
For a start, the USA gets most of it's oil imports from Canada, Mexico, Venesuela, Nigeria, and Saudi Arabia. Most Iraqi oil goes to Europe and Asia. That's a FACT. Look it up, you Aussie prick, if you can figure out how.
The USA doesn't care that much about the oil in Iraq, save for the fact that if the Iraqis can sell it, it'll cost us less in the long run to rebuild their economy.
You hate America. Big Deal. So does most of the world. You claim America is doing things it isn't doing, like invading Iraq for oil. Big deal. So does most of the world.
It doesn't make you right though. It just makes you another insecure, xenophobic America-hater. Big deal. There are tons of fools in this great big world. You are just one of the herd.
Steve B @ Jan 21st 2006 12:22AM
Xbox360 looks like it's going to be a bit of a flop everywhere .I can't believe how many people i know who where excited obout the console are not even bothering to look for one anymore and are just waiting until all 3 consoles are out .The 360 maybe worth $400.00 but it's way beyond an impulse purchase or a gift purchase.This subject has been beaten to death.
OTAM @ Jan 21st 2006 6:21AM
I also have the mentality of "who cares if it will fail in China?",but not for the reason that "China is stupidheads and not good enough". Here's what I think really.
Why bother targeting these countries that don't care about your system? If Japan hates the 360 then why not just leave them be and take care of your supporters in Europe and North America who will give you their money because they love your product rather than just "hoping" to get some cash from a country that is so blindly loyal to your competitors logo? Instead of "hoping" Japan embraces the 360 why not ship all these consoles over to NA and Europe knowing there are fans of your console and will buy it the second available? The longer you wait the quicker they will just look to another game company like Nintendo or Sony for their console that WILL be available to them.
It just doesnt make any sense to me.
Capt CHAOS @ Jan 21st 2006 6:31AM
Cut the bull, the Chinese market is not all that important, too much piracy. It would be good to sell a few 360's to the more affluent folks who have the money and don't care that they can't get cheap pirated games for the console. China != Japan, the cultures are quite different. Japan is another story, a massive market that needs to be penetrated.
dritan @ Jan 21st 2006 2:04PM
ok guys..i've been thinking about this issue long before this article came out. first of all, I'm from a country called Albania(its ok if you don't know it), but i've spent almost 80% of my life living in Beijing, Chinese is my first language and i'm fairly confident to say that i know the Chinese people and market well enough(i'm currently studying economics at Monash Uni). and im also a semi-hardcore gamer, so here are my 2 cents about this issue.
i think that in the long run, the PS3 will out-sell the X360 in a worldwide scale, and the reason for that will be its success in the Chinese market. I dont have to mention the demographics of China as someone already did, but i just wanna show you guys some other facts about chinese people that you probably wouldn't know unless you grew up here. First, Beijing, the city where i grew up, has about 20m people, one of the smallest among china's most developed cities(Chong Qing has over 60m), most of the families here has only 1 child due to the national policy, therefore these kids are like emperors in the house, they can ask for anything they want and all the other members will save up to fulfill their wishes, no matter how expensive, so if the kid asks for a 400$ over game console, the chances are that they will be granted the wish. so price is not an issue for all 3 consoles, the real problem comes in the online thing, it is true that Chinese like MMORPGs, but they only play that on PCs, the only console MMORPG so far that i know is FFXI which is a miserable failure in China. Why? because Chinese people don't like to pay!! most of the people do not have credit cards, online payment is still something too far for this land, and i really don't see it coming in the lifecycle of these consoles, so X360's greatest weapon doesn't work on chinese market. Considering that, i think in online terms Revolution will be the winner as first party games will be free.
Secondly, its the games. as mentioned by many others, Chinese(or Asian in general) do not enjoy american type of games like FPS or racing as much as the went does(altho i'd like to point out that the world's Nr.2 team of C.S is from China, but thats PC games). If you go and check(on Wiki), the best selling game series of ALL time is not Halo(all three) or GTA, it is the Final Fantasy series, and Chinese in general are HUGE fans of every FF game(except FFXI), if anyone knows chinese and is interested you can go check out this site http://www.ffsky.com/ff/main.asp, we all know that FF and RPGs alike are mostly PS exclusive, and those games have great single player storyline that composes of 100+ hrs of gameplay, this is far more appealing to thinking-orientated Chinese gamers than any x360 exclusives. as for MMORPGs, i think in the foreseeable future, it is still going to be majorly on PC in China. if it will move to consoles, it will not be anything that the west knows, but its gonna be a Chinese console called EZstation which offers lifetime free MMORPG accounts for games developed by Chinese(more on this later).
Third point: as you guys already know, piracy is HUGE in china, and as soon as games hit the market, pirated versions follows up(i have to say Chinese are good at doing this), maybe it will take them awhile until they crack blu-ray, but its just a matter of time, unlike x360 or revolution where MS or Nintendo can prevent you from playing pirated games by using their online services, the PS3 will be perfect for most gamers as the price eventually drops, and companies start making money out of hardwares,(thats why i said 'in the long run' at the begining). No matter how cheap the pirated games are, the hardware still costs the same as the west(maybe abit cheaper),so all those gammers will still need to buy a console which will amount to the sales of the manufacturer.
lastly i wanna counter those who said China is not important and does not contribute to the industry. China is extreamly important, considering that these new consoles are expected to last 5-7 yrs, according to UNDP, by 2008 Chinese people will have sufficient disposable income and consuming power to match that of the big three of europe(Germany, France, and Britain).that is huge in economic terms, whether Chinese people like the product can affect its success on a worldwide scale, so maybe you can ignore the chinese market today, but you cant afford to do that in a few years time. i didn't know that moore said that they are targeting chinese market, but to me it doesn't seem so. or put it this way, no matter what they do they probably will still fail, Chinese people hate japanese, and altho they say they don't, but in fact they still buy huge amount of Jap import(China is Jap's 2nd trading partner).But the steriotyping in China is that MS is a software company and they are only good at cheating and ripping people off, NONE of the chinese i know has a original Windows copy, so i think its a mistake to market Xbox under MS at all. About Chinese developers, as a matter of fact, they do develop MANY games, just that they are all in Chinese so you might not know them, in fact they most successfull PC games in China are all made by locals(incl some of the best MMORPGs), and Sony knows the Chinese taste better than the MS, and many Chinese dev are constanly working on translating nice foreign games(unfortunately still too few).
alright, if you have read all those that i rote, i'm very thankful and appreciate any commentsfeedbacks.
regards,
dritan
Abcb @ Jan 21st 2006 9:18PM
To be honest, most of the next gen consoles will fail badly in china unless a modchip come out and massive amounts of discs. The only way to fight piracy is to lower the price of real legit discs. I have seen some older games in legit book stores in Shanghai costing 20 RMB = 2.5 dollars, titles such as fallout 2, some chinese d2 clones, mmrpgs, etc. Point is, no one in china is going to spend their $400 usd on a console system when their monthly rent for a 2 bedroom apt is $150.
Jerrick @ Jan 23rd 2006 1:14AM
HOWEVER one problem remains. that of piracy. It is rampant and unstoppable. Microsoft can only enter the market, in my opinion when the cost of production of each xbox 360 is less than the price that they will sell the product at because chances are the in china they may never be able to convince consumers to purchase real games. Unless each game is sold at 20rmb or less. (20 rmb is about 2.5 us dollars) You can currently get fake PS2 and Xbox games at approximately 7 rmb per disk. That's 80 us cents. Basically the cost of a blank DVD. There is hardly any way microsoft can make profits here and thats why Xbox has not even been officially released here. All we get are parallel imports.
Disclaimer: I am singaporean living in China and own a PS2. I don't think I will be getting a PS3 unless they release a slimline one like the current PS2. Xbox 360 definately will be on my list when i get back to Singapore.
chinsag @ Jan 23rd 2006 10:59PM
It's really hard to believe that nobody has picked up on the fact that Tang Jun, the "analyst" that this article refers to, is not only the president of one of China's largest online game operators, Shanda (Nasdaq: SNDA), but also ran Microsoft China for a long time.
Whether you feel that MSFT will succeed with the xBox in China or not, you have to admit that Tang Jun's perspective is at least a fairly well-educated one!
Tang Jun joined Shanda from Microsoft in Feb 2004:
http://www.pacificepoch.com/newsstories?id=3167_0_5_0_M
Personally, I think the xBox and other game consoles will never see the acceptance % in China that they do in the West, because console-based video gaming simply doesn't matter in China. Gamers play online games in China -- the history of console-based games was completely leap-frogged here.
This is why Shanda, The9 (NCTY) and Netease (NTES) have done so well in the past couple of years. Whether they can hold on to their lead is an issue for another day...