Microsoft to beat Sony into Taiwan
Resurgent economy and online savvy, Taiwan sought by console manufacturers.
Reports surfacing today indicate Microsoft is poised to roll out the Xbox Live online gaming system into Taiwan, uniting the country with what is without question the best networked games service in existence.
A resurgent economy and the vast amount of online usage in the country make it a key target for online console gaming services, though this comes at a price. Intellectual property is simply not respected throughout that region of Asia. This, combined with an intense hacker and virus-writing community, makes Taiwan’s sword truly double-edged.
What’s more, if Microsoft meets its targets and launches Live! in the next three months, it will beat Sony to this prime position. SCE has stated that it will not introduce PS2 online gaming there until at least half a million hardware units are installed. Given that current estimates put the userbase at under half this amount, it’s unlikely that Sony will strike first.
So as long as Xbox Live doesn’t suffer any “I Love You” style problems, expect to be meeting your Taiwanese cousins online by October.
More on this as it breaks.
A resurgent economy and the vast amount of online usage in the country make it a key target for online console gaming services, though this comes at a price. Intellectual property is simply not respected throughout that region of Asia. This, combined with an intense hacker and virus-writing community, makes Taiwan’s sword truly double-edged.
What’s more, if Microsoft meets its targets and launches Live! in the next three months, it will beat Sony to this prime position. SCE has stated that it will not introduce PS2 online gaming there until at least half a million hardware units are installed. Given that current estimates put the userbase at under half this amount, it’s unlikely that Sony will strike first.
So as long as Xbox Live doesn’t suffer any “I Love You” style problems, expect to be meeting your Taiwanese cousins online by October.
More on this as it breaks.
Companies:
Microsoft
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