Microsoft and Sony step up China plans, following console ban lift

Microsoft and Sony are believed to be stepping up plans to launch the Xbox and PlayStation brands in China, following the nation's lifting of its long-standing console ban.

Of course, one look at China's Amazon equivalent TaoBao reveals that consoles have been available in China for a long time now, most of which are cracked or chipped to play copied games.

Still, Global Times has it that sat an IT summit over the weekend, Microsoft's global vice president Zhang Yaqi stated that the company expects to start selling Xbox consoles - it was not specified which version - across China soon.

Meanwhile, Sony has announced it will open a new China Strategy Department within the firm's joint Japan/Asia division. Sony's corporate communications manager in China, Takehito Soeda, is said to helm the arm.

We'll have more on how Sony and Microsoft are tackling China soon.

Via CVG.