Chinese telecommunication equipment maker ZTE Corp Wednesday unveiled its first TV set-top box in partnership with online game developer The9.

One of the box's main draws is that it can be used to play a host of games, including video games that are usually played on PC or games consoles, emphasized Zhu Jun, CEO of Shanghai-based The9, at the press conference.

The launch shows ZTE also wants to dive into the country's profitable and promising video game market, especially after the government loosened its control on the game console market in January, said Xue Wenfeng, a gaming industry analyst with Beijing-based research firm Analysys International.

Data released at China's annual games industry conference in December showed that China's video game sales in 2013 rose 38 percent from a year earlier to 83.17 billion yuan ($13.76 billion), with PC games accounting for 64.5 percent.

ZTE's rival Huawei also sensed the huge opportunities in the sector and announced in January the introduction of its self-developed multipurpose console Tron in the second quarter of this year.

Similar to Tron, ZTE's Android-based TV set-top box, dubbed "Fun Box," enables users to watch online videos, play games and surf the Internet.

Lacking competitive edges, technologically speaking, it will be hard for devices like Fun Box to win over domestic high-end game players from more mature foreign rivals such as Microsoft's Xbox and Sony's PlayStation, Xue told the Global Times Wednesday.

It can be attractive to China's price-sensitive users and more competitive than most other TV set-top boxes, such as Xiaomi Box, due to its being able to feature more kinds of video games, said Xue.

Zhao Jingyi, general manager of the joint venture between ZTE and The9, said during the conference the box will be sold at 499 yuan and its proprietary Bluetooth gamepad will cost 199 yuan, making it 698 yuan in total.

Zhao hopes to sell 3 million units of the Fun Box this year. Domestic online retailer JD pledged to help them sell 1 million. The first batch will be available for pre-orders on JD on April 10.