Load the Game

Microsoft drops the price for Xbox One

• Egon Kilin
• May 15th, 2014

Microsoft decided to drop the entry price of their Xbox One video-game console in order to boost the demand for the device. The Xbox One was released last year in November with an entry price of $499, while its greatest rival Sony PlayStation 4 was released with an entry price of $399. Costing $100 dollars less, Sony’s PlayStation 4 was often chose over the Xbox One, but there were some who decided to wait until Microsoft lowered the prices before buying a video-game console.

The new $399 Xbox One is only a version of the previous one, unfortunately this version does not come with the Kinect motion sensor, a device that until the price drop was tied up to every Xbox One. Phil Spencer, head of Microsoft’s Xbox group claimed that about 80% of their customers use the Kinect, so perhaps releasing a Kinectless Xbox version wasn’t a bad idea after all.

“We’ve heard that you want more choices from Xbox One,” said Phil Spencer. Meanwhile, the PlayStation 4 also released in November has taken over sales, counting over 7 million devices shipped all around the world, considerably more than the 5 million Xbox One consoles.

Microsoft made some other “improvements” in order to make their device more appealing, such as giving free copies of the “Titanfall” shooting game or other games to whoever bought Xbox One units. Such price drops were made before, but not by Microsoft, some retailers, as Amazon, decided to make the Xbox more affordable and brought down the price to $399.

The company also said it will offer new features to Xbox owners, for instance those who subscribe to streaming video services, Hulu or Netfix, will use the apps for free. Previously, a subscription to Microsoft’s Xbox Live gaming social network cost about $9.99/month. Another good news is that in the coming months the company will also offer discounts on popular games or even free access to other titles to all members.