I really dont think it will matter much this year.  I also believe that unlike last generation MS will be in a much better spot to reduce the price than Sony was last generation.  It really hurt Sony bad to cut the PS3 price so quickly. Think that leads to MS being able to keep the price at a higher starting price point and quickly reduce to the same price as PS4 next year.

Thoughts?

The PS4 being cheaper right out of the gate probably leads to more buying the PS4 than Xbox One at least in the first year. Anything after the first year is pure guess work obviously.

it does to an extent:

#1 it will always look appealing to the casual gamer... say if they're only into maybe the big 3rd party titles then why pay $100 more for the XB1 when you can get the same games on the PS4 for $100 less(depending on the confirmed models)

#2 it usual gives the the cheaper console more leverage for years to come; say if MS drops the price of XB1 to $400 then Sony might be able to counter with dropping the PS4 to $300

For the launch period it really shouldn't be that important.
Fans will be getting both consoles regardless of the price.

But after that....

Sure, but with MS in a much better financial position that hurts Sony more. MS benefits by selling higher (likely at a profit) while Sony is selling likely at around cost or a small loss. PS4 has more expensive memory and GPU so simple addition of Kinect doesnt mean costs for Xbox One is higher.  In the future estimates will come out and I believe based on the components that the PS4 and the Xbox One will cost about the same to produce.

I think it will make something of a difference, though maybe not as much as the PS3 vs 360 launch prices. The good news for MS is that a $499 price point won't carry the long-term stigma of $599, and on top of that they've got the Kinect to help justify the price to casual gamers and families who are interested in TV-related offerings.

The bad news for MS is...well, it's that the PS4 is $100 cheaper, and in this constantly stagnant economy, getting a console for a cheaper price is a big deal. I personally wouldn't be surprised if we see a price cut for the X1 in 2015 if sales aren't satisfactory.

haveing the cheaper price point allways works. the ps3 was 100 more then the 360 and it did not sell well so ms is killing them selfs with this price and sony will allways be the cheaper console

lolololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololololol.


i'm laughing out loud right now.

What MS can to is have a software update where you don't need that "Thing" for the Xbone. So it'll cut the price of the console to $399?

Microsoft is already sold out on Amazon and their single SKU for GameStop. Seems like no one cares about any of it to be honest.