Breaking what has been a multi-decade ban on video game consoles, Microsoft and BesTV are partnering up to bring Xbox One to one of the largest gaming markets in the world – China. As stated in the announcement video above, this adds a potential 500+ million gamers as possible customers for the Xbox One, which will no doubt give Microsoft a sales boost in comparison to its competitors.

“This is a historic moment in our partnership as we work toward the first official Xbox launch in China,” said Yusuf Mehdi, Xbox’s chief marketing and strategy officer. “Xbox One will also be the first system of its kind to launch in China.”

Mehdi said that gamers make up roughly a third of China’s population – which is more than the entire population of North America. China’s game market is based mostly on PC gamers, many who play in Internet cafes with their friends, but the “legalization” of gaming consoles will likely spark the interest of gamers who have spent there entire lives unable to [legally] play what the rest of us take for granted.

What are your thoughts on this announcement? Do you think the introduction of a new console to a country with a population of 500+ million gamers will affect the sales (and software development) of the Xbox One? Or do you think that China has been rooted in its PC/Mobile market for so long that this won’t really have that much of a significant impact? Let us know! This is the first time this has happened in my lifetime, so my guess is as good as yours!