| thismeintiel said:
Personally, I think it's going to take a $350 price point to compete with the PS4. March had a $450 price for the One, Kinect AND a game, plus the release of the incredibly hyped Titanfall, yet 60K more people chose the PS4. While I agree that people don't think "Well, since I get Kinect with the One, that basically makes it $400-$450 for the One." But, when you package a game for free at $450, they will think they are basically getting the One for $400. Especially since it was cheaper to buy a One with Titanfall than it was to buy the PS4 with Infamous, and you got Kinect on top of that. |
Exactly, and I think this data shows that not only is price parity not going to change the situation for XBone,
but that most consumers are valueing Kinect at absolutely ZERO, at least as long as it is connected to the XBone.
(the PS4 camera is even more sold out than the PS4 itself)
To the change the situation, MS will need to de-bundle Kinect AND further subsidize the console.
That may be possible by this next holiday season, but is not remotely sustainable if it does not immediately turn things around.
And I see no reason why Sony itself would not decide to play that subsidy game if MS does,
as it's much less a gamble for them given the demonstrated "natural" demand and userbase/ecosystem lead they already have.
And if Sony does that, then MS' strategy will be entirely pointless at much cost to their bottom line.
But to repeat, it's not all about how get's "#1". I believe MS can be profitable selling 1/2 the number of PS4's globally.
Instead of throwing money at ineffective console subsidies, they can develop 1st party games (or buy 3rd party exclusivity).
That is what establishes value of their of their console, and crucially, might motivate PS4 owners to buy XBone as a second console.
I'm not sure why dropping Kinect would be crucial to achieving that more likely profitable #2 spot,
so keeping it may be just as good a strategy as making a Kinect-less SKU. Although they are a minority, the people who ARE buying XBone,
apparently DO think it has some value and are happy with the bundling, so it's plausible that MS can continue with their 1:2 sales ratio.
(I would say that in additional markets PS4 will have further advantage, expanding the ratio in their favor, but MS can still live with their sales)
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