The biggest contributor to Holiday sales are the prices. Looking at all the 10 current bundles, only 2 of them are $350, the Gears of War Ultimate 500GB Bundle and LEGO Movie 500GB bundle. The rest are $400+.

When parents choose between the PS4 & XBO, they will most likely go for the cheapest bundle. Sony will be advertising the Battlefront bundle which will cost $350 while Microsoft will be advertising $400+ bundles. Microsoft should have a Halo 5 500GB for $350, that would sell a lot, or even a recent game with 500GB for $350.

So what do you guys think? Is Microsoft missing the point with these bundles? 

Yes, definitely. Price of entry is a massive thing.

A $299 plain vanilla 500GB X1 would outsell almost any $350 X1 (other than a Halo 5 or FO4 bundle), and so on. It's a huge psychological thing even if the value is worse.

I have the feeling that :

(A)- Microsoft corporate leadership felt that it was time for the Xbox group to show dependable profits even on hardware, and the numbers just didn't add up for them this year ...

or

(B)- They will adjust the pricing soon, and/or potentially run a 'free game' promotion with any X1 purchase.

Think about it, a $349 Halo 5 bundle would have sold exceptionally well, even if it was a plain console with a download code. Ditto a $349 Fallout 4 bundle. Even a $349 Tomb Raider bundle would have done pretty okay I believe, even if far less than Halo or FO.

But at the same time, they know that Halo 5 and Fallout 4 will sell a ton at full MSRP, so perhaps they think they will be more profitable with letting those games sell themselves, and potentially losing XXk-XXXk hardware sales in comparison by firmly deciding not to bundle at a discount.

The LE Halo 5 bundle is doing okayish for the price, but it doesn't seem like there is much hype of movement in the general hardware sales department in regards to X1 at the moment. Amazon shows vanilla/kinect/misc other X1 bundles to be basically fully dead at the moment.

I don't think MS is just giving up, I think they will have some official price reduction or new bundle/promotional announcement before long. If they don't, this holiday season could be something of a blowout. And Halo 5 is literally the biggest game brand for Xbox. If that fails to ignite more than a fizzle in hardware sales, they are in serious trouble even in the US.

Yes, they are definitely missing the point with the current bundles. They need a price advantage over PS4 to stay competitive. But it's not too late for them to pull another "limited time discount" like they did last year to motivate people to buy before the end of the year. If they do it, they'll probably do it shortly before Black Friday. And then of course the limited time will become permanent in the new year.

Start them high now, then the $100 off seems more generous later.
Profit from those that can't wait, numbers BF week.
Some people want things first, some like to wait for good deals. Benefit from both.

This notion of "parents" picking consoles is... absurd. I'm sure it happens, rarely. But parents don't just buy little Johnny what they want. They buy what HE wants. They're not going to get an Xbox One for a kid who wants PS4 and visa versa because as soon as he opens it, he's going to freak the hell out.

I wouldnt worry about it. I am sure they are going to come up with something before BF.

I still don't believe the fairy tale of parents choosing the wrong console just to save 50 bucks. Either the parents or the kids will have a preference and won't decide which to buy just in the store and only due to price.

No. Since a huge portion of Xbox's gaming fans are at the age where they either know what they want, or have the money and ability to get what they want, price isn't as much of a subject as long as it's reasonable.
If parents are buying the Xbox's, then they are going to be directed to exactly what those interested are interested in. Especially now with the internet, Amazon, wishlists, and carts for online sites. All a parent needs to do if they are actually interested in getting the kid what they want is look it up, or ask them. I still don't think that's much of the actual scenario though. In the end, as long as a sale is made, that's what MS is worried about, whether it be the GOW bundle, Tomb Raider bundle, or the Lego one. Makes little difference as long as the sale is made.

Have you ever been to a store during black friday? It's literally filled with parents. I remember last year at my local Best Buy during Black Friday and Gamespot that it was parents that were buying consoles. While at the Gamespot it was just non parents buying just games. A huge point of black friday is to buy Christmas gifts.

Yup. That's how it is now.