Updated: The revised launch date has been announced as September 29th.

While the Xbox One has seen a successful launch in many regions around the world – including the U.S., where it continues to be a hot seller – there are some regions where it’s still running into trouble. The system is selling very slowly in Japan; less than 30,000 Xbox Ones were sold in the first week, compared to over 300,000 units for both the Wii U and the PS4 in their opening weeks. Now, a mere handful of days before the announced launch date for China, Microsoft has opted to move the launch of the console in China to the end of the month.

Originally due for release on September 23rd, the system was already reaching out to a large audience, as over 100,000 customers pre-ordered it in time for its release. The company confirmed the delay this past Saturday, indicating that it will release instead the following week, on September 30th.

However, Microsoft won’t leave those loyal gamers hanging, as it has promised that several bonuses will be offered for the delay. These could be in the form of various game releases, although it hasn’t confirmed just what it’s giving away yet. (In the past, both Sony and Nintendo have provided games for players who had trouble with their services, or felt “robbed” when a deal wasn’t quite worth what it was originally intended.

The progress towards the launch of the Xbox One has been “strong and steady,” according to Microsoft, but unspecified circumstances led to delay the launch, to sometime “by the end of this year.” The company still intends to hold a special event that ties in with the launch, where 100 attendees could win systems, but, sadly, they’ll have to wait about a week to pick up their prizes.

It seems as if Microsoft could miss a big opportunity with the launch on Chinese shelves, as Sony currently had no immediate plans to release the PlayStation 4 in that market. That’s not to say it’ll never release, but the company’s prior experience on the market – a poorly performing PlayStation 2 release back in 2004 – probably has the team acting a little more carefully this time around.

It’ll be interesting to see how the Xbox One performs overseas once it finally releases later in the year. And if Sony will try to take advantage of Microsoft’s delays in the Chinese market.

Source: Games In Asia