Iâll be the first to admit it: I didnât expect it to happen. But now, Microsoft has proven me wrong. The Xbox One is Chinaâs first official video game console
in 14 years and, as of today, it is officially on sale.
Originally slated for release last Tuesday, the console was delayed for six days. There was a launch party set up, but due to poor weather, the party was canceled. Microsoft also provided statements, saying that havenât been any new celebrations planned for the consoleâs launch.
Despite the lack of official plans, the Xbox Oneâs launch wasnât without fanfare. One of Microsoftâs retail partners organised a midnight launch for eight of its retail outlets across China. Sure, itâs not like a midnight release at a GameStop, but Sunning electronics had a store in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenzhen, Guangzhou, Nanjing, Shenyang, Wuhan, and Chongqing open at midnight. Thatâs pretty much the major Chinese cities.
The following video and photos are of the midnight launch in Shanghai.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=kdfDQoOAhoI
Just look at those photos of the Shanghai midnight launch! It doesnât look as bad as what happened in Japan. Then again, Japanâs had gaming consoles since forever.
https://lastchance.cc/japans-xbox-one-launch-as-sad-as-youd-expect-1630411606%3C/a%3E%3C/p%3E
The lines outside of the Beijing store
Unfortunately, it appears most of photos of the launch were photos of the Beijing and Shanghai locations. Some of the photos were taken this morning, and not at the Midnight launch event. In Beijing, one of the Xbox launch partners even enlisted the help of
Chinese professional gamer Cao Mei
A guy in an Xbox T-shirt plays a game with Professional League of Legends player Cao Mei at a Sunning electronics store in Beijing during the Xbox One Launch.
So far, there havenât been many posts of the other six stores on Chinese social media.
Gamers who purchased the Xbox One on launch day received special controllers in their boxes. The controllers have the words âChina Day Oneâ inscribed above the Xbox button.
Microsoft hasnât said how many Xboxâs in China sold will be considered a success, one can only wonder how much of a head start the Windows company really got being the first to launch a home console in China.
Kotaku will have more on the Xboxâs launch in China as the weeks go on.
Photos via:
Kotaku East is your slice of Asian Internet culture, bringing you the latest talking points from Japan, Korea, China and beyond. Tune in every morning from 4am to 8am.
Eric is a Beijing based writer and all around FAT man. You can contact him @[email protected] or follow him on Twitter @FatAsianTechie
