E-commerce major Amazon has tied up with Microsoft to exclusively sell the latter?s Interactive Entertainment Business (IEB) portfolio, which includes Xbox gaming consoles, from September 1. Amazon on Wednesday also announced exclusive pre-order bookings for Xbox One. Incidentally, this will be the first instance of Microsoft adopting the ?online only? strategy for retailing its products.
Amazon seems to have taken a cue from Flipkart ? its biggest rival in the Indian e-commerce market ? which had tied up with mobile phone makers Xiaomi and Motorola to launch their phones exclusively through its online marketplace. In fact, Flipkart will also launch author Chetan Bhagat’s next release, Half Girlfriend, exclusively on its website.
As part of the tie-up, Amazon will exclusively sell Xbox One, Xbox 360, Kinect, Xbox Live, Xbox Accessories and all Microsoft-published Xbox game titles on its portal.
?This partnership gives us the opportunity to forge deeper engagement with gaming enthusiasts across the country and aligns with our vision of offering customers in India the widest selection at low prices, fast and reliable delivery and a trustworthy shopping experience,? said Samir Kumar, director – category management, Amazon India, in a statement.
Xbox One will be available in India from September 23, 2014, for R39,990 and Xbox One with Kinect will cost R45,990. In a bid to boost sales, consumers pre-ordering the Xbox One will get the FIFA 15 game for free. The Kinect bundle will include an additional free game of Dance Central Spotlight. Besides, the first 1,000 customers will get special offers worth Rs 10,000.
?We will continue to support sales of the Xbox 360 portfolio till August 30 across our existing retail channels, post which the portfolio will become exclusive to Amazon.in,? said Anshu Mor,
director ? Interactive Entertainment Business, Microsoft India.
