Microsoft launched the Xbox One in China after almost a year’s worth of industry wide skepticism and doubts as to whether the move would yield any benefits, but it appears that the launch, which was the first official console launch in the country for nearly a decade and a half, has been a tremendous success. Chinese video games news site 17173 reports that more than 100,000 units of the console have been sold in the country. This number also includes the pre-orders that were ultimately honored.
17173 also reports that Microsoft apparently aims to have sold 1 million consoles in the territory by this time this year- an achievable goal, but they would have to do their very best to maintain momentum, especially if their success causes others (namely PlayStation and Nintendo) to take notice.
China is one of the few countries in Asia where the Xbox One has had a good launch- the South Korean launch went well before the console’s sales fell off a cliff, while the Japanese launch was an unmitigated disaster. Often a notion that many scoffed at, China may yet help turn around the Xbox One’s fortunes in this cycle of the console wars.
