You can now pre-order your Xbox One in India, but through Amazon only

After what seems like an eternity, Microsoft has finally announced launch plans for the Xbox One in India. Though a few enterprising retailers jumped the gun and announced pre-orders well before the Redmond-based giant had announced them officially, it looks like their haste will go unrewarded. Amazon India will be the exclusive retailer for the Xbox One in the country. The news comes via Xbox India head, Anshu Mor’s Twitter feed:

While this move is bound to ruffle some feathers, it’s understandable for Microsoft to take this route. In spite of a high profile launch for the Xbox 360 back in 2006, the market hasn’t taken to it at all. Keeping it as an exclusive to Amazon India lessens the headaches of logistics across distributing to multiple game stores across the country. Thanks to Amazon’s booming online presence and being a large source of traffic, partnering with one of the nation’s bigger e-commerce retailers could potentially allow for a larger audience. Interestingly though, Microsoft has refused to comment on how long Amazon’s exclusivity on the Xbox One would last.

(See: Looking to buy the Xbox One in India? Don’t bother waiting for the official release date)

So what does pre-ordering from Amazon India get you? Well, INR 10,000 (around $163) worth of freebies including speakers, blu-rays, and oddly enough, backpacks. Keep in mind that this is for the first 1,000 pre-orders only. The console is available for pre-purchase at INR 39,990 ($667) without Kinect and INR 45,990 ($767) with Kinect.

Are you pre-ordering from Amazon? Or do you think Microsoft should give you the choice to buy at your local game store? Let us know in the comments.

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