Got fired from MS China (downsizing) :(

[HylianSwordsman]

MoHasanie said:

HylianSwordsman said:
As others have said, congrats on the new job, good luck, though it does raise some questions for me. It certainly seems confusing to downsize so much in the face of launching Xbox there. Some people mentioned other Asian countries being cheaper, piracy as a problem, etc, but you'd think that even with all that, they'd keep more than 12 out of 200 people for a project like a console launch...any ideas what's going on?

The console launch is being handled by a Chinese company who will be bringing the console to stores in China. 

Microsoft is a huge company with offices everywhere around the world. Moreover, Microsoft is known for its Windows and Office software, and server business. Recently Microsoft said that they earn less revenue from China than they do from the Netherlands, even though demand for their products there was about the same as the United States. Also, the Chinese government recently banned Windows 8 on government computers. So maybe Microsoft didn't see the point of having such a big office there. 

Ah, that makes more sense then, thanks. That's some pretty insane piracy though! I'm sure game systems will be more profitable though, since you can put precautions in place against piracy more easily than with PC. Launching Xbox through a Chinese company is probably a smart move. It'll get around Western-phobia somewhat.