As a lot of you may not know, the 360 launched here in India just a few months ago. While the launch itself was a little lacking in terms of game-related content, 360 sales seem to be doing OK for a console that’s heavily overpriced. The 360 (Core) retails here for a price of INR 19,900. That’s about $446, and it doesn’t even include taxes. Needless to say, not many people can afford the console and naturally, the Premium system is completely out of the question (INR 23,990 + taxes). That’s where ICICI bank comes into the picture:
India’s ICICI bank says it will secure an Xbox 360 Core system for customers for an upfront payment of the rupee equivalent of about $20.00 and six monthly installments of about $73.00. The Xbox 360 Core system ordinarily sells in India for about $518.00.
ICICI officials say this type of program is needed to give everyday Indians access to the products produced by the multinationals that have outsourced much of their production to the country’s low wage workers. “Bridging the gap between affordability and desirability calls for a need to use innovative methods to reach out to the masses across the country,” said Sachin Khandelwal, general manager for ICICI’s Cards Product Group, in a statement.
Most working families in urban India are classified under the upper or lower middle class groups, and buying a 360 at that price is just plain out of the question for a lot of people. We still get charged the same prices for games (approx. $60 in INR), but console prices themselves are through the roof. Hopefully, ICICI’s attempts at making things a little easier on us will boost sales of Microsoft’s online demon.
This is definitely something I’ll be looking into.
[Via Information Week]
