Piracy stops Xbox in China
PrintNot worth the bother
Posted in Personal, 15th November 2001 18:35 GMT
Free research: Application platforms, the state of play
Microsoft's Xbox gaming console will not be sold in Hong Kong or China for the foreseeable future, due to rampant piracy in the region.
The company is selling the actual hardware at a loss - as much as $125 per box, according to Merrill Lynch - and plans to recoup profits on its software titles, much like the razor blade or printer cartridge industry.
As pirated software in many Asian regions is so widespread, it doesn't make much business sense to sell there, a Microsoft source told the South China Morning Post on Thursday.
Sony faces the same issue; a spokesperson says the company has no plans to sell the PlayStation 2 in Hong Kong.
As for the official line, a Microsoft spokesperson says no date has been set for those countries, saying that in a country like China, "consumer demand for PCs and other hardware products is still quite small, compared with the professional market".
A visit to the console's official site appears to confirm this, with dates set for most global regions including Europe, Japan and Australia, but no mention of China or other Asian countries.
Of course, both Sony and MS consoles (and their pirated titles) will almost surely be available on the grey market. ®
Related Links
The South China Morning Post - free registration required to view article
Microsoft's Piracy Site
Official Xbox site
Related Stories
WinXP piracy report - from Bangkok to Bristol
Xbox lands
Singapore pirates flog WinXP for $2.75
Natalie Imbruglia wins CD protection race
Dirty, dirty PCs: The X-rated picture guide
Top 500 supers - rise of the Linux quad-cores
Early adopters bloodied by Ubuntu's Karmic Koala
Sign up, sign up for The Register IT security newsletter