WeChat and Mobile QQ exclusively sell Xbox One in China. First console in 14 years

Chinese Ecommerce platform JD announced it has acquired the local right to Microsoft’s Xbox One gaming console. First sales will be taking place on Tencent’s WeChat and Mobile QQ apps.

Tencent bought out a 17.6% stake of JD earlier this year and since has been routing listings to its mobile offerings. Tencent’s WeChat platform has proven to be an Ecommerce powerhouse, helping complete over 150,000 smartphones purchase through its famous flash sales in a span of less than 10 minutes.

In the year 2000, the Chinese government banned the official sales of modern gaming consoles, due to worries over violent content and the potential of moral decay. Due to the ban, legal loopholes and illegal purchases of consoles and games was the reality for China’s gaming sector. Tencent and JD’s listings for the Xbox One marks the first official game console to go on sale in China in the past 14 years.

“Through our partnership with Tencent, Chinese consumers are increasingly able to enjoy the JD.com shopping experience directly on China’s most popular mobile communications platforms. We will continue to focus on providing the most convenient channels for Chinese consumers to purchase authentic products through their mobile devices,” says Shuang Du, vice president of JD, in a statement.

Trailing behind main competitor Alibaba and its online outlets Tmall and TaoBao, the exclusivity of Tencent and JD’s deal with Microsoft should help prove successful as being the only platform in China selling an official game console. The sale begins today, July 28th, and lasts until July 30th.

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