Competitors and channels are like this spit out Microsoft Xbox into China

Will the Xbox be a formidable opponent? Will Microsoft's successful business model in the global marketplace also work in China? Sohu It living Room Report group This time he tried to answer these key questions for you through a lot of interview reports.

Let's start with a little bit of text: At the end of July 2014, Microsoft unveiled market prices and business models for Xbox products in mainland China. The official price is 3699 yuan, the limited edition price is 4299 yuan, the software has "the limit racing 5", "the Halo" and so on variety will accompany the licensed game to launch together. At the same time, Microsoft also announced that Tencent, perfect and other domestic gaming companies support, the latter will be on the Microsoft Xboxone launched online games draw card games.

However, from Microsoft's roadmap, the Xbox in the game distribution channels and the existing game hardware channel model in China, and by Tcl as the representative of the domestic companies, at present, the Xbox in the domestic main face of the real situation is:

1, pricing strategy into a soft rib by the opponents of shelling

TCL Multimedia CEO Shanyi that the Xbox is a respectable opponent, but its business model determines that the Xbox may not do much.

From the business model, the Xbox Genuine games in addition to pre-installed games and free mode of large-scale games, the rest of the new products to pay, and the price is about hundreds of yuan. Shanyi that this model is common to ordinary Chinese people do not like. and TCL Game platform strategy is: free. After the user really likes the game, then through the props and other models to complete the charge.

From the target user point of view, Tcl's approach is a massive game tactics, all kinds of Android games can be adapted on the television, which determines the game-type TV audience groups, to a relatively wide range.

However, Shanyi also mentions that the Xbox's chances lie with the people at the top of the pyramid, the market must have, but game TV is not afraid of them.

2, lock area embarrassment: or missed the top user

According to Shanyi, the Xbox charge the top user, while domestic Android consoles like Tcl are the main mass market. But in fact, does the top player really buy the licensed Xbox?

A player with a 15 gaming experience told us that he had decided to give up buying the product after seeing the news of the country's Xbox lock area.

The so-called lock zone refers to the domestic sales of the Xbox One can only play for the Chinese region launched the game, due to the domestic game review cycle longer, which will lead to foreign markets in the popular first-line game works will not be able to be a domestic simultaneous listing. This would lead to a licensed Xbox with no advantage over parallel imports.

In fact, the message of the lock area also affected the pre-sale of the Xbox. The ChinaJoy site, Microsoft for the Xbox prepared a luxurious start booking venues, but with Microsoft at the expense of carefully laid out the site in stark contrast is that the open space only a few staff chat, booking site is particularly deserted.

3, the domestic game companies hold a wait-and-see attitude

According to the Sohu It living Room Report Group, Microsoft in the national line of the Xbox before the release of an emergency operation strategy, and will draw domestic gaming companies to join as the top priority, then the effectiveness of this strategy?

The perfect announcement on the Xbox launched its online game "No Winter Night", and Tencent also announced on the Xbox platform launched chess games. On the surface, Microsoft's wooing strategy is still very successful, the perfect, Tencent these domestic first-line game company's joining also will make up the flaw of the game lineup. But a game company insider, who declined to be named, tells us that the gaming industry is generally taking a wait-and-see attitude towards Microsoft's Xbox platform, and that other companies are not as enthusiastic about Microsoft's Xbox platform as in the perfect game.

"Tencent on the Xbox is the introduction of chess games, but to spend thousands of yuan to buy such a surface with hundreds of Yuan Android game box No difference between the people must be only the core players, ask the core players to play chess game on it?" The source said that the domestic game companies to join the Microsoft Camp is more publicity stunt, but also to see what the company launched the impact of products, but now in addition to perfect in the full support of the Xbox platform, the rest of the company is more "coping with and watching."

4. Distribution channels: Parallel Importers fear extinction

Before the Xbox was admitted to China, the Xbox was licensed to enter the Chinese living room. After Microsoft announced its Xbox price last month, Sohu's It living Room report group once again visited the Zhongguancun video game bus and China video game, the two most representative channel manufacturers. For Microsoft's selling prices and business models, they say there is no pressure.

But when chatting with an executive at a video-game bus, the director was worried that if Microsoft were to replicate the channel model of PCs on the Xbox, it would be a disaster for companies such as gaming buses.

To urge Chinese channel vendors to sell products preinstalled with genuine Windows operating systems, Microsoft has sent more than 10 of channels to court in a way that is similar to the phishing model. One of the executives at the gaming bus said if Microsoft has some kind of excuse to sue the video game bus channel piracy Microsoft games, to install pirated games to users, then we and the PC channel business results like, can only lose, the result is that we either become Microsoft Genuine agent, or do not do Xbox this line.

Conclusion

From what we've learned, while Microsoft has changed its operations strategy for the Chinese market and adjusted its business model, it still has a bleak outlook in China.