First off, let’s just accept that Microsoft is adamant about every Xbox One owner having access to Kinect.  That way the user base is not split from a development standpoint and their vision for the console remains intact.  So selling the console without Kinect is another discussion altogether.

Now, Xbox One will, at the very least, break even at its current price point of $499.  But while it’s true that this is a marathon and not a sprint, the PS4 is certainly looking poised to really gain ground on Microsoft’s home turf of North America at this juncture.

So, given that Microsoft as a company could easily sustain a $100 loss per unit (which, let’s be real, is nothing new in this industry), would it have been better for them to just bite the bullet and still price Xbox One at $399 for price parity with the Playstation 4?  Or are profits more important and is the $499 pricing the better move?

Well you really have to factor in all of the billions they've already spent so far, just on the x1. So losing another billion or two isn't going to make the suits at MS very happy. While it would help, it wouldn't cement a "win" for them. Now if by next year they are getting stomped in the ground they'll drop the price, but so will Sony. So they are better of just staying the path they are on now and see how things play out.

I think they are taking a big loss at $500, more than Sony is on the ps4, so I think $400 is out of the question for them.

I would get one sooner probably instead of waiting for halo 5. I still think we will see a subsidized one by the end of 2014.

They'll be fine. I expect great things for X1.
The $500 will be well worth it. MS guns haven't even fully flexed. 343i,Black Tusk and others haven't even released their projects. Plus I have high expectations for Kinect .2

I have said yes since they first announced the price. The reason is they are making you pay for Kinect when they failed last gen to show how that its something worth paying for. Kinect will become something this gen and the indy developers are going to be the ones who  show what Kinect can do.

X1 is not gonna be sold at loss. PS4 will be sold at loss.

Ok both MS and Sony bound to sell out or near sellout the next few months. So why sell at a loss to start? If by E3 PS4 is pulling away then and only then lower the price.

No console has ever sold well at that price and no console ever will. Until it comes down, expect sluggish sales.

Source?