As you might have heard, Microsoft had announced that they will be officially selling the Xbox One console in China later this year in September. In a way this is a pretty big deal because prior to this, video game consoles were banned from being sold in the country, and while they still made its way into the hands of gamers via unofficial channels, this would essentially legalize the entire thing and allow Microsoft to establish a stronger foothold in the country.
So where would one go if they were interested in purchasing an Xbox One? A departmental store? A gaming store? An electronics store? Well according to a report from Reuters, how about a carrier? Yup, you read that right, it seems that if you wanted to get your hands on an Xbox One in China, you would have to go to China Telecom.
China Telecom is the country’s third largest carrier and starting from September, they will be getting an exclusive to sell the console via its retail channels. However according to a China Telecom spokesman, pricing and a specific launch date have yet to be determined. However last we heard, there is a chance that the Xbox One in China could be priced pretty high, no thanks to taxes which adds on to the cost.
It’s an interesting choice to sell the console through a carrier, but hopefully it will work out in Microsoft’s favor. So far not everyone seems to be enthused about the idea of the Xbox One in China, with one developer going as far as to say that Microsoft’s efforts will fail.