China to allow sales of Xbox One and other game consoles in entire country

The government of China plans to lift a 15-year sales ban of all game consoles in their entire country, including Microsoft's Xbox One. The ban follows a decision in 2014 to allow consoles to be sold just in China's Shanghai Free Trade Zone.

The Wall Street Journal reports that small exception was in fact a pilot program from China's Ministry of Culture, and it was successful enough for the government to completely lift the console sales ban across the country. China originally ban sales of game consoles in 2000, claiming they were concerned about possible bad effects they were having on the country's children.

Microsoft started offering the Xbox One in China inside the Shanghai Free Trade Zone in the fall of 2014 for the price of 3,699 RMB ($600). While it sold 100,000 consoles on its launch day, sales have since declined. It's likely that will change once the Xbox One goes on sale everywhere in China. A specific date for that event has not yet been revealed.

Source: Wall Street Journal