Microsoft Claims Expanding Xbox Live Usage in East Asia

Representatives from Microsoft have claimed that one in seven Far Eastern Xbox video games players now use Xbox Live, just six months after the regional launch of the service. The company's figures indicate that 15 percent of Xbox console owners in East Asia subscribe to Xbox Live, compared with 12 percent world-wide. Regional sales director Yolanda Chan has commented: "We want to up [the penetration rate] to 22 percent by the end of the fiscal year." However, the stated percentages do not seem to tally with the figures previously given by Microsoft for the world-wide user base of Xbox and Xbox Live. According to the company’s own figures world-wide sign-up to Xbox Live is currently at 1 million and the entire user base around 15 million. This translates to a sign-up rate of just 6.6 percent, almost half of this newly stated figure. In any case, according to Chan, nearly 200,000 of Xbox Live’s users now come from Asia, making the territory the fastest growing in the world. To foster the Xbox’s growth in the Asia-Pacific region, Microsoft has also announced a new development initiative, forming a partnership with the Hong Kong government to nurture local game development talent. The company has similar programs in Taiwan and South Korea.