Microsoft Reduces Price of Xbox One In Time for the Holidays

[roseofbattle]

Microsoft Reduces Price of Xbox One In Time for the Holidays

The Xbox One will be $50 cheaper from November 2 to January 3 in the U.S.

The Xbox One is getting a temporary price cut for holiday shopping ahead of Black Friday. All Xbox One consoles and bundles will cost $50 less from November 2 to January 3, 2015 at participating retailers.

The standalone console will cost $349 during this promotion. Bundles will also see the same price cut. Also beginning on November 2, Microsoft will release the Assassin's Creed bundle, which includes both Sunset Overdrive [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/tag/view/assassins%20creed%20unity].

The other bundle, available November 3, includes the Xbox One, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, and a 1 TB hard drive for $449. This does not include the Kinect.

However, this promotion is only available in the U.S., a Microsoft spokesperson told Eurogamer [http://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2014-10-27-microsoft-announces-xbox-one-christmas-price-cut-in-us], despite Microsoft's original statement indicating availability and timing outside the U.S. will vary.

"Decisions about promotional and pricing strategies are made at a local level and based on market context," the spokesperson said.

Microsoft launched the Xbox One November of last year for $499. In June the company began releasing a Kinect-free version of the Xbox One for $399. [http://www.escapistmagazine.com/news/view/134456-Xbox-One-to-Get-Kinect-Free-Version-for-399-in-June] This price cut makes some Xbox One consoles and bundles cheaper than Sony's competing console, the PS4. Sony has not announced any price cuts for the PS4.

Source: Xbox Wire [http://news.xbox.com/2014/10/xbox-one-special-savings]


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[martyrdrebel27]

Really happy to see this. I already have my X1, but lets be honest, Xbox has had a rocky start this Gen, this could be just the boost it needs.

 

[BlueJoneleth]

US only?

Waiting to see if there is something similar in EU. Might pick one up then.

 

[Fox12]

Come on Sony, step up your game. You can't stop competing just because you won an early victory. I would love to save $50 on a ps4 this winter. In any case, if I was somehow on the fence then this would probably be enough to win me over. This will probably boost their sales. Unfortunately I'm fed up with Microsoft, so I won't be one of them.

 

[Kurt Cristal]

The Assassins Creed deal is the best, TWO GAMES and the console for less than you'd normally pay for the Xbox with no games at all? That's going to raise a couple of eyebrows.

 

[Story]

Wonderful deal, but I wouldn't be surprised if Nintendo or at the very least Sony does the same.
I do really like the look of that COD Xbox one though.

 

[Silverbane7]

(us only) because they want the pound more than they want the dollar right now.
its the same with all the other companies, most of the time.
remember back in the days when people used to import pokemon games, befor the region locking? that was because a £29.99 game in the uk was $29.99 dollars in the US and that was about half the cost once you traded over from dollars to pounds.

if you guys in the us are paying $499 or $399 for your xbox or ps4, we are also paying £499 or £399 in pounds, which is probably, yet again, twice as much value in the us lol.
im just gratefull we arent getting the same level as australia though. they REALY get it in the backside!

 

[Daaaah Whoosh]

I can't tell if all these price cuts are a good or bad sign for PS4 owners like myself. On the one hand, the Xbone is sounding more desirable, but on the other, they may have already lost the war.

Either way, I'm even more angry at their initial $500 price now.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

Sweet. The xbone isn't worth 4 Bens (and neither is the PS4, really) to the public. This might give them a boost and put pressure on the other two to either lower prices or get a some more bundles out. If I had built a new PC 2 years ago when my job was booming, I might have gone with this deal and picked up the MC Collection, but right now a Wii U (if black Friday works out like I hope) and an old PC that can still compete with consoles is good enough for me.

captcha: pie are round
Yes they is, captcha.

 

[Sniper Team 4]

Oh, that is tempting, but alas, the only games I want to play on the Xbox One are the Halo ones, and that's not enough to justify buying one of these along side a PS4 next month. At least, not at the pay that I make.

Is it bad that I'm hoping Sony sees this and decides to do the same thing, just in time for Dragon Age Inquisition?

 

[Lightknight]

Sweet. The xbone isn't worth 4 Bens (and neither is the PS4, really) to the public.

The PS4 was estimated to cost around $381 to manufacture before shipping at launch and the XBO supposedly cost around $471 to manufacture back when it had the kinect 2 stapled to it and that component was only estimated to cost around $75. So they're both really close to the $400 price and any reduction in price of manufacturing since release would be due to the components being cheaper and that difference in price would need to make up for any losses suffered at launch due to the launch price being so close to manufacture cost before shipping and retailer profit margin.

$400 is perfectly fair for the PS4. Now that the XBO is just the XBO but with 50% less power than the PS4 the $50 price cut makes sense. If the PS4 cuts their price too then the XBO pricing would not make sense again.

This might give them a boost and put pressure on the other two to either lower prices or get a some more bundles out. If I had built a new PC 2 years ago when my job was booming, I might have gone with this deal and picked up the MC Collection, but right now a Wii U (if black Friday works out like I hope) and an old PC that can still compete with consoles is good enough for me.

captcha: pie are round
Yes they is, captcha.

The WiiU is still the crazily priced one. They should have dropped the $140 unnecessary gamepad after their first year's performance. We could have had a WiiU at a very attractive $200 price point had they not forced it on users. But for 2GB of RAM (only 1GB available for games) and the same CPU as the 360, the WiiU is highway robbery pricing for a crappy gamepad that isn't even on par with modern smartphone screens.

 

[circularlogic88]

Wow, Microsoft is really hoping to sell more consoles this season. I almost want to pick one up. Too bad almost only counts in horseshoes and hand grenades. Still have hard feelings about #dealwithit and Microsoft's attitude towards its critics before during and after E3. Yeah, they've gone out of their way to make improvements since the system's launched with patches and mimicking Sony's plus membership with Games for Gold members. But that was too little too late for me.

 

[J Tyran]

US only?

Waiting to see if there is something similar in EU. Might pick one up then.

Not sure about the rest of the EU but the prices are already pretty good in the UK, standalone console is £329 and a bundle with a game like the Master Cheif Collection is £350.

Trouble is a standalone PS4 costs about the same, these prices are online and supermarkets though not the rip off game specific retailers like Game.

 

[Andy Shandy]

Huh, with Forza Horizon out, and Sunset Overdrive and Halo: Master Chief Collection on the way before the year is out, I'd argue the Xbox One is a better value proposition than the PS4 at that price.

I'd say Wii U is still the best value for money out of the three, but it kind of dances to its' own tune.

 

[Hairless Mammoth]

The PS4 was estimated to cost around $381 to manufacture before shipping at launch and the XBO supposedly cost around $471 to manufacture back when it had the kinect 2 stapled to it and that component was only estimated to cost around $75. So they're both really close to the $400 price and any reduction in price of manufacturing since release would be due to the components being cheaper and that difference in price would need to make up for any losses suffered at launch due to the launch price being so close to manufacture cost before shipping and retailer profit margin.

$400 is perfectly fair for the PS4. Now that the XBO is just the XBO but with 50% less power than the PS4 the $50 price cut makes sense. If the PS4 cuts their price too then the XBO pricing would not make sense again.

The WiiU is still the crazily priced one. They should have dropped the $140 unnecessary gamepad after their first year's performance. We could have had a WiiU at a very attractive $200 price point had they not forced it on users. But for 2GB of RAM (only 1GB available for games) and the same CPU as the 360, the WiiU is highway robbery pricing for a crappy gamepad that isn't even on par with modern smartphone screens.

I know Sony, Nintendo and and Microsoft poured a sizable chunk of change into their new systems, as they do every console cycle, and the early adopters have to eat that cost. But this time they did do a cheaper shortcut by just using the most powerful x86 APUs from AMD they could get, or in Big N's case a modified version of the Wii's components. The fact they made them so underpowered after a long previous generation makes them far less appealing at their current prices.

Developers are already hitting the ceiling of this gen's capabilities because of the low specs and their familiarity with x86 hardware. The last cycle saw resolution jump to at least 720p. This time, we all expected 1080p at 60 fps and these units can't handle that in most games. It's even worse that they said this generation would last 10 years and 4K TV will become the norm before that time is over. I have the same fears as many commentators across the world that this generation will be over in 5 years because of developer demand alone. If Sony and MS want to win as many customers as possible they will lower the prices within a decent time, because this gen will either be short and customers will have to make another $400 investment when they didn't want to, or this gen will have very little increase in graphical quality and detail from now on. Graphics may not matter to a larger number of folks but there is already a vocal crowd expressing a different opinion.

The Wii U is indeed too much. I always hear Ninty has a big piggy bank, but they won't take advantage of that by going farther down the loss leader route and substantially reducing the price of a Wii U. It could have a much larger install base right now. They could drop the Wii pad and remedy that, but naysayers say that means devs won't utilize it. Many already make it optional, though. (Of course, every system out their right now has some underused gimmick that should have been an accessory to reduce price of entry or should have never been implemented.)

Though, I still say a Wii U is a better choice at the moment, especially for PC gamers looking for a console. They still have the most exclusives, while most 3rd party games for the other hit PC at nearly the same time. The ports might not be great at times, but they still have the overall same quality as the anemic consoles.

 

[masticina]

That was within expectancy. Though I am sure many consoles have already been sold this is not the same time as 2006/2007. And people are waiting longer before buying their next console. Not all of course but look at how the WiiU is effected by "eh no not yet maybe if a really good game came out for it" effect. Which by now it has quite a few good games!

So xbox one, cheaper, just for the holidays, okay! It might just give it a little push forward and in long term that can't hurt. Myself? I do not own a WIiU, Xbox One or a PS4 yet.

I am still waiting.
Waiting on Godot

 

[Olas]

See Nintendo? That's what you do. When your console is underselling you cut the price. The Xbox One, a much more powerful console, is going to be the same price as the WiiU, that shouldn't happen.

 

[ryukage_sama]

Well that's nice for somebody. For somebody who doesn't have a solid gaming PC (I got AC4 & Splinter Cell for free with my GPU), this looks like a bargain. It's a savvy business move, if it works. As 360s die, people will gradually replace them with XBONEs, and this would attract buyers away from the PS4.

Me, I'm hoping to find a deal so I can spend my holiday playing Super Smash Bros. and Bayonetta 2.

 

[RicoADF]

im just gratefull we arent getting the same level as australia though. they REALY get it in the backside!

Not really actually, the XBO is $500 for the CoD 1TB console, an extra $50 isn't that bad. Same with PS4, we can get the PS4 with 3 games (Alien: Isolation, The Evil Within and The Last of Us: Remastered) for $569. Not too bad if you ask me.