According to reports, China officials will now permit regulations that would allow the manufacture and sale of game consoles anywhere in Mainland China.

Although China recently lifted a 14-year ban on gaming consoles from being able to be operated and sold in China, the consoles were very limited and consumers could only purchase at store locations in Shanghai's free-trade zone.

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Now however, local governments have submitted a set of rules to the Ministry of Commerce and China will soon allow game companies to expand its products and services throughout the country while no longer being restricted to Shanghai's market.

"Foreign game console makers such as Microsoft Corp., Sony Corp. and Nintendo Co., stand to benefit from increased access to what PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP estimated was a US$10 billion video game industry," Bloomberg reports.

Microsoft's Xbox One was the first console to be launched in China since the ban was lifted, but the U.S. gaming giant hasn't gained the success it was expecting. Being restricted to the free-trade zone certainly made an impact on sales, but it was in large part due to China restricting most of the Xbox-exclusive game titles popularized in the U.S.

Microsoft only launched 100,000 consoles with just 10 available titles in September and so far the company hasn't released any sales figures - a good indication that things aren't going too well in China. It'll certainly be interesting to see whether the new regulations set in place will help save Microsoft's success in the world's second-largest economy.

Meanwhile, Sony delayed its Jan. 11 PlayStation 4 launch date after Chinese government asked for adjustments. However, the changes that the company needs to make before the console can be released haven't yet been clear. 

TagsXbox One, Game Consoles, Gaming, sony playstation 4