Microsoft Slashes Xbox One Price In U.K.
Even as people seem to prefer purchasing the PS4, Microsoft has resorted to price cuts in order to push more Xbox One units into the market. It was only during the holiday season that the Xbox One managed to surpass PS4 sales in the U.S. thanks to a $50 price cut. The rest of the time the PlayStation 4 has enjoyed a sales lead over its rival. Even during that period the sales figures in the rest of the world favoured Sony, as the price cut was restricted to U.S.
Microsoft seems to have realised that discounts seem to be the only way to gain an edge over its rival. Therefore, after the U.S. markets, it's the turn of U.K. to get the discount treatment. This time, the incentive to buy an Xbox One is even greater. Microsoft has rolled a special discounted Xbox One bundle for the U.K., according to VG247. For £300, the bundle includes a console, Kinect motion controller, in addition to two "Assassin's Creed" games and a store voucher for £20.
To put this into perspective, the plain vanilla bundle costs £400 without the discount. The total effective savings considering the store voucher and two free games amount to a handsome £100. Even if that seems like a steep price, Microsoft has gamers covered. Gamespot reports that the company has rolled out a limited-edition White Xbox One for the U.K. market. It not only costs £20 less than the discounted bundle, but it also ships with a free copy of "Sunset Overdrive." The only catch is that this bundle doesn't include the Kinect accessory.
The console war has always been a brutal business. Large corporate entities pump in billions into state-of-the-art platforms each generation, but not all of them emerge victorious. The losers are relegated to obscurity and that comes with a huge cost for some players – most notably Sega, which never really recovered from the consequences of Dreamcast failure. This console generation is a two war battle with Sony and Microsoft offering products that are nearly identical in performance.
However, the PlayStation 4's slight edge in performance and a more gamer-centric approach has allowed it to gain considerable sales lead over the Xbox One, which seems to have alienated hardcore gamers by focusing on being an all-in-one entertainment device. The war isn't over just yet. The lack of significant exclusive titles on either end means that the goal for these rival console players at the moment is to amass a user base large enough to lure established developers to make exclusive titles.
Microsoft's latest round of discounts will allow it to close the sales gap with the PS4. With a large enough installed user base, the quality and quantity of console exclusives will eventually decide the winner. It seems the Xbox One is trying every trick in the book to get the numbers in its favour.
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Xbox One Unveil Video (credit: XboxYouTube channel)
