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Xbox 360 In China Next Year
The U.S., Europe, and Japan are getting ahold of Microsoft's next console this year, but China will have to wait until 2006, reports Gamasutra. From the article: "Obviously, it's somewhat unclear that the majority of China's workforce would be able to afford such a console - the average wage of an urban worker in China in 2004 was 9,422 yuan ($1,164), and a rural worker made just 2,936 yuan ($363) on average. Nonetheless, Microsoft is keen to make a symbolic move into the territory, as Sony did in December 2003 when it launched the PlayStation 2 in four major Chinese cities, to as yet unrevealed sales figures. Nintendo is trying a different strategy, with its license to iQue for the release of specially branded, localized Nintendo 64, Game Boy, and even Nintendo DS products in Chinese territories."
the average wage of an urban worker in China in 2004 was 9,422 yuan ($1,164), and a rural worker made just 2,936 yuan ($363) on average.
Average what? Year? Month? Day? Huge difference there. I guessed that the article was referring to the average yearly salary and checked the web, but it would help if the article was clear about this in the first place. Anyway, no wonder piracy is rampant in China. At a salary of a little over $1000/year (for an urban worker) who could afford the Xbox, a game, or even a DVD? Even pirated DVDs or games costing a few dollars have to be budgeted for when you make $97 a month. It's a reality that I did not recognize until now.