Eight years ago marked the launch of Xbox 360 in India. Now, Microsoft is back in the country with its latest gaming console, Xbox One. The console has finally started shipping in the nation through e-commerce portal Amazon India.
The Xbox One with Kinect bundle is priced at Rs 45,990, whereas the Kinect-less console will set you back by Rs 39,990. Amazon India and Microsoft are also offering several enticing deals to lure in customers. With every purchase of Xbox One (either of the bundles), customers are being provided goodies worth Rs 6,000 for free. Additionally, customers are also getting a Rs 2,000 eGift coupon that they can use to reduce the price of an Xbox controller or their favorite Blu-ray titles. If that wasn’t enough, Microsoft is also giving away a 14-day free trial subscription of Xbox Live.
The launch day titles include Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising 3, Destiny, Ryse: Son of Rome, and FIFA 15. The Xbox One with Kinect bundle ships with two free titles, FIFA 15 and Dance Central Spotlight DLC, while the Kinect-less bundle comes with FIFA 15.
In 2006, Microsoft released its then flagship console Xbox 360 in India. The console was launched eight months earlier to its rival Sony’s PlayStation 3. Eight years later, Sony has already launched its PlayStation 4, incidentally 8 months earlier to Xbox One launch in the country. Perfect marketing, complemented by great pricing, and a timely launch gave Xbox 360 a head-start against Sony’s PlayStation 3. The Xbox 360 was priced at Rs 23,900, while the PlayStation would have cost you Rs 39,990.
However, things have changed since then. Microsoft has been missing in action from any sort of marketing. As if the online-store route wasn’t enough of a challenge, it seems that the company hasn’t invested much in advertising either. At Xbox 360’s launch, Microsoft had roped Bollywood star Akshay Kumar, and Indian cricketer Yuvraj Singh for brand promotion, in addition to running ads in local newspapers. This time, no such glittering is found anywhere. It will be interesting how things fare this time around with Xbox One.
Pic Credit: Games in Asia
