New Xbox One model to cut price to match PS4, report says
It’s been well-documented that Sony’s PS4 has thoroughly beatenMicrosoft’s Xbox One in sales since both consoles released back in November. The Xbox One isn’t floundering by any means, though, but the perception and fact that it’s in second place will only hurt the console in the long run, especially with the PS4′s looming release in its home market of Japan on February 22 poised to significantly grow the gap between the two consoles. The one strategy Microsoft can employ to mitigate some of Sony’s impending sales explosion is to change the Xbox One’s price to one that can compete with the PS4. A new report claims that Microsoft will indeed employ this strategy, and cut the price of the Xbox One to compete with the PS4, which is currently priced at $399.
A generation or two ago, this significant of a price cut within one year of a new console’s release would mostly be unprecedented, but Nintendo employed the strategy with both the Nintendo 3DS and Wii U after facing financial disaster. While news of the price cut is from a “well-respected source,” Microsoft has faced a number of leaks this week, from a white Xbox One to a model that comes equipped with a 1TB hard drive. While anything coming from the omniscient and omnipresent Anonymous Sources should be taken with a shipping crate full of shakers of salt, Microsoft is reportedly looking to take legal action upon the leaker of the news, which does add an air of legitimacy to the details.
A white Xbox One is rumored for release.
While the other tidbits leaked aren’t too surprising – another Forza is in the works, Crackdown will get another sequel, Halo 2 will get an anniversary edition — the price cut is easily the most juicy. The current $499 price makes it very difficult to favor the Xbox One over the PS4 from a consumer standpoint. The PS4 is $100 less for more powerful hardware, doesn’t force an Xbox Live-like paywall on top of your other subscription services like Netflix or MMOs, has a larger install base of people to game with, has what many are calling the most comfortable controller ever made, and arguably has developers that create more impactful exclusives. If the Xbox One does drop to the same price, then the argument becomes a little more difficult — you get the sophisticated Kinect and the Xbox One’s cable integration for “free,” as well as Microsoft’s more competent online service — that might lessen the blow of somewhat inferior hardware.
Supposedly, the price cut will hit sometime this year, but as this year has just begun, we could be in for a long wait.
