American McGee: "Xbox One will fail in China"

Never one to be shy with his opinions, Spicy Horse founder American McGee has penned an opinion piece giving five reasons why the Xbox One will fail in China.

He likened the move to "selling sand at the beach" because, despite the ban, consoles are readily available for Chinese gamers that want them. He also argued that the market is packed with cheaper Android-powered set top boxes, and that, "99 per cent of streaming content is consumed on mobile devices or PCs."

McGee is based in Shanghai, China, so he's a man that knows the market. Another of his major concerns for the console is competition from less legal avenues.

"Piracy. If you've not seen it in China, you've not seen anything. It's massive, awe-inspiring, and will poke giant holes in even the best digital content plans."

"There's no stopping a dinosaur"

He also offered a sociological twist, revealing that families that can afford the American hardware are more concerned with their offspring's studies than their entertainment needs, and those that aren't can't afford the Xbox One.

Censorship of content is also cited as a concern. Let's not forget, China is a country that sees fit to censor the internet with more than 60 regulations. The Global Internet Freedom Consortium notes: "The regime not only blocks website content but also monitors who is using the Internet and what they are using it for" - a major stumbling block for Microsoft when it comes to digital publishing and online features.

"I could make more points..." McGee continued.

"Chinese consumers are addicted to mobile phones, gamers get their kicks online, consoles are dead, etc, etc... but there's no stopping a dinosaur. I'll just leave it at five."

You can read the piece in full here.

Microsoft announced yesterday that it would be launching the Xbox One in China, and said, "the culture of games and entertainment is rapidly growing in China, with nearly half a billion people playing games."