Microsoft Launches Windows 98 in China
Microsoft Corp. launched the Chinese version of its Windows 98 operating system Monday in a glitzy ceremony that underscored its ambitions for one of the world’s fastest-growing computer markets.
More than 1,000 Chinese computer and software specialists gathered in a luxury Beijing hotel for a party featuring confetti, fireworks and even a cherry-red Ferrari sports car that roared into the hotel’s function hall.
With personal computer sales expected to hit 4 million units in 1998, about a third higher than last year, China is fast becoming a crucial market for the software giant, a company executive said.
“We believe the China marketplace in the near term is very, very significant,” said Michael Rawding, regional director for Microsoft (China) Co., a subsidiary of the Redmond, Wash.-based company.
“This launch is representative, along with a number of other things that we’re considering, of indeed a more strategic investment by Microsoft in the China marketplace,” Rawding said.
The release launched Monday uses the simplified version of Chinese characters used in mainland China. Hong Kong and Taiwan still employ the traditional, complex Chinese script.
Windows 98 hit store shelves in five major Chinese cities at midnight Monday in a special sale lasting 98 minutes.
The software carries a price tag of $240, but Windows 95 users can upgrade for about $130.
Although the price is about double the monthly salary of an average urban worker, Microsoft has cut deals with local PC makers to pre-install Windows 98 on new computers.
Rawding declined to forecast sales figures, but said, “We have a goal of every new PC that is shipped into this marketplace having a copy of Windows pre-bundled.”
Bundling would also help Microsoft fight rampant piracy in China, where illegal copies of software are believed to account for up to 95% of sales.
PCs, once considered an extravagance, are now within the reach of many ordinary Chinese, with 11 million machines installed nationwide, Rawding said.
“In the last few months, there’s been a surge in home buying here in China that I think is representative of the larger percentage of the population that can afford a PC and the software that goes with it,” he said.
