China Telecom Corp Ltd will be selling Microsoft’s Xbox One in September. This exclusive contract gives China Telecom the rights to sell the Xbox One in a country that has banned console sales since 2000, with mental health being cited as the biggest factor. However, last year China had lifted that ban after 14 years, with mobile gaming sales taking off and smuggled consoles making their way into the country. China Telecom is the third largest telecommunications in China since this Friday and with this acquisition, they’re hoping to gain some real attention.
While the price has not been named, this contract only allows those customers of China Telecom’s broadband access to the console. Joanna Li, Microsoft’s China spokeswoman, said in an email that in addition to the September release date for Telecom consumers, the Xbox One would have a public release date as well. This comes as no surprise considering Microsoft had made a deal last year to allow manufacturing of the console to take place in Shanghai. Sony also had made the announcement two months ago that the PS4 would be coming to China, but with no specific release date. It seems that Microsoft jumped on top of the opportunity before Sony got the chance to make a deal. This could impact the sales for the Xbox One in general.
Xbox One sales has trailed Sony’s PS4 right now, with the PS4 being named the top selling console in the US in June despite Xbox Ones without the Kinect. A ton of exclusives from the Xbox One will be coming out shortly as well as these foreign sales deals, we may see a shift in the counter. This could bring back the console wars if the sales are reaching the foreign market.
What do you all think of the Xbox One hitting foreign markets? Are sales going to increase or do you think Sony will still take over? I’d love to hear your thoughts!
Here’s a little comparison of the Destiny Beta’s graphics on both the Xbox One and the PS4!
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