Xbox One Breaks The PS4’s Winning Streak This November
Since their initial launches, Sony's PS4 has dominated the sales charts despite its expensive $399 price point. However, after slashing $50 off of its original price and offering a free game from the Microsoft store upon purchase, the Xbox One has finally topped Sony's next-gen console as the best-selling console of November in both the U.S. and the U.K.
One attribute that may have led to Microsoft's current victory is the Assassin's Creed Bundle. GameSpot reports that the bundle kept the slashed price of $350 and featured both "Assassin's Creed: Unity" and its predecessor "Assassin's Creed: Black Flag." Combine that with the free game purchase in the Microsoft store and you can see why people flocked over to Microsoft's side.
It also helps that the choice for a free game were not limited to small titles either. Games like "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare," "Grand Theft Auto V," "Dragon Age: Inquisition," "WWE 2K15" and "Titanfall" are among the bigger names in game titles, and the option to take them home as a free game is an offer worth looking at.
MIcrosoft is also not without good strategy, as Forbes reports that the recent boost in sales may also be the result of price cuts, redesigned consoles and free game offers. The Xbox One no longer comes with a Kinect, which pushes down its price point even more. But the price slash and the expected discounts from Black Friday were all factors that led to victory for November.
"We are committed to making Xbox the best place to play, with this year's best games, the best community of gamers to play with and terrific vaue. And we are amazed by the excitement Xbox fans have shown to start off this holiday," said Xbox marketing corporate vice president Mike Nichols in a statement to IGN.
In terms of exclusivity the Xbox One is on a roll. The expected arrival of "Halo 5: Guardians" will definitely garner sales from its fanbase, especially with the beta already expected to debut on Dec. 29. Not to mention that fans were also surprised at the news of exclusivity for "Rise of the Tomb Raider." These two games are just some of the post-holiday expectations from the growing Xbox One fanbase, especially coming from a holiday that featured releases including "Sunset Overdrive" and "Forza Horizon 2."
Whether or not this strategy will work for Microsoft in the long haul remains to be seen. The E3 2013 that happened with MIcrosoft proved that, with enough push from fans, the companies will listen. Next year may see Sony coming up wiht its own strategy to get the PS4 back in gear. With Microsoft's new price point giving it a strong boost, the ball may now be in Sony's court to see what happens in the continuing console war.
XBox One - Invitation Trailer (Credit: YouTube/GameSpot)