Not sure how many times this type of thread gets going. Nobody knows what the cost is to make a PS4 or XB1. People can guess what the cost is based on off the shelf pricing. But, there is no way a manufacturer is paying anything close to that.
But, if we go off the guess that the cost of the Kinect version at launch was $470 and the fact that the price of the Kinect was actually guessed to be more like $130+, we end up at $340 A YEAR AGO...
After producing (not selling) 8 million of them, don't you think that they have been able to get better pricing?
My guess is that the cost of the current XB1 without Kinect is $310-325. Their cost of the game is probably $25-35 depending on the title. So, they might be breaking even on the systems and maybe losing $10-20 on a bundle.
Any losses are cheap at this point, as market share and consumer mindset are more important. If M$ can get the XB1 to sell even close to the PS4 during the holidays, that would be a massive win.
The reality is, Sony will likely drop their price or offer free PS+ or something to make it a virtual price match. If that is the case, the XB1 will not really get much out of the price drop.
It is near the end of the end....
