Microsoft may as well have not launched the Xbox One in China

If you want to know how well the Xbox One is doing in China, just look at BesTV, the company that Microsoft partnered with the release the console in China. While the company itself is doing fine, the subsidiary that’s in charge of selling the Xbox One lost nearly $3 million last year. In fact, pretty much nobody has sold a significant number of the console since the initial 100,000 units sold at launch. 

BesTV, the company that Microsoft partnered with to release its Xbox One in China, is doing OK according to the company’s 2014 fiscal report. But the subsidiary company that’s in charge of the Xbox One? That’s not doing so hot. Techweb reports that it lost RMB 17.24 million (US$2.75 million) in 2014. Beyond launch sales of 100,000 units (including preorders), it isn’t clear just how well the Chinese version of the Xbox One has sold. Some loss may be expected at the launch of a console given the investment necessary in terms of marketing and prep work, but the BesTV subsidiary’s figures certainly don’t suggest that the Chinese market warmed up much to the console after its initially lukewarm reception. Neither do public ecommerce sales figures: Tmall has shipped fewer than 200 units of the console in the past month, for example.