China has been slowly opening up its market off late. The country has now lifted the ban of the gaming consoles like Xbox 360, Sony’s PlayStation and others. This is a good news for companies like Microsoft, Sony and Apple.
Thirteen years ago, the sale of gaming consoles were banned in China. Companies like Sony and Microsoft were not officially allowed to sell their consoles in the country. But today, the Chinese State Council announced that the ban has now been lifted and companies from other countries can now establish their production and sales operations in Shanghai’s free trade zone.
It was recently that China announced the lift in banning social networks like Facebook and Twitter in Shanghai’s free trade zone, and this announcement gives us a perspective that the country is indeed opening up for new opportunities from other countries. Considering the population of China, console manufacturers will be targeting the market like no other in the years to come.
While this is one side of the story, Apple sold over five million units of iPhone 5 during the opening weekend last year. The company announced that they have sold over nine million iPhone 5s and iPhone 5c combined during the opening weekend this year. This statistics includes data from the Chinese market too, where Apple began selling iPhones in the first slot of roll out across the world.
It is worthy to note the quick and intelligent moves Apple is making to capture the Chinese market, as it is opening up to foreign companies. The Chinese market is not something regular. The products should be super affordable and should be targeted properly to make an impact. Even if just 5% of the Chinese population could afford these devices, that would be about 80 million units of gaming consoles and iPhones selling out. Such large numbers can be hit only in countries like China and India.