Sony may have the upper hand with its PS4 console already being available in India, but not for long as Microsoft’s Xbox One is scheduled to arrive by the end of Q3 2014. The Redmond giant officially disclosed this information and has noted that the console will sell for Rs 39,990 which is around the same price as the latest PlayStation system.
Just to clarify things, the aforementioned price is for the model without the Kinect sensor. This very same version has already gone up for sale in the US and UK for $399.99 and £349.99, respectively. The bundle with Kinect will retail for Rs 45,990 in India. The sensor adds various augmentations to the experience including gesture controls, biometric sign-in, Skype video calls and much more. It also enables certain exclusive features in games like Kinect Sports Rivals, Dead Rising 3 and Project Spark.
Microsoft is also launching various AAA titles such as Forza Horizon 2 and Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Halo 5: Guardians multiplayer beta. More titles will be added to the lineup in the future along with bundle options. The console will be accompanied by a 500GB HDD, an Xbox One Wireless Controller that’s now supported on Windows through downloadable drivers and a 14-day free trial of Xbox Live Gold.
Come September 23, the Xbox One will hit stores in India at the aforementioned price. Microsoft notes that pre-order details and a complete list of games will be provided at a later date. The console will also go official in Hong Kong, Singapore and Taiwan on the said date, in addition to other Asian countries.