Will Microsoft's Xbox One Price Cut Kill the Console or Save It?

Microsoft is tired of letting Sony pad its lead in competition among the latest generation of gaming consoles, so the Xbox parent is going on the offensive. Microsoft will release a cheaper Xbox One on June 9, the day before diehard gamers converge at the annual E3 conference.

Slashing the system's price by $100 to $399 will match what Sony is commanding for its PlayStation 4, but Xbox fans will have to do without the motion-based Kinect controller to get the lower price. That's a big sacrifice given how Microsoft has promoted its camera-based controller to players and developers, but it was the easiest way to cut the price just seven months into the console's life cycle.

[Mikelarry]

Imo i think it will help it i got one after the price announcment but cheaper than than 350 including kinect and titanfall, i have a few friends who were waiting on a pricecut before jumping to next gen as to be honest theres nothing really out there that really justifies spending 349 or 429 for next gen but that is about to change after e3. So with this price cut they are more than ready

[denawayne]

It'll kill it. They're done. Pack it in. Cancel E3.

[Naga]

Should probably add a /s to that comment to avoid running into bubble trouble.

Though it should be obvious that nobody in their right mind would think that...

[denawayne]

/s

[Xbot1214]

Gamers logic is always about complaining,

Gamer -"We don't want DRM on our console"

DRM was removed

Gamer -"Kinect is useless, remove it n drop the price"

Kinect was removed and price dropped

Gamer -"Power bar is too big, remove it and drop the price again"

[Dudebro90]

Neither. Flamebait headline is garbage.

[Automatic79]

Choice is good for all.

[MasterCornholio]

It should have been there since the beginning but thats just my opinion.

[Godmars290]

Thing is MS's idea of "choice" has generally been subjective. Often requires additional costs or less features.

[psforward]

Not sure how a price cut would kill it...other things yes but not a price cut.

[NexGen]

My exact thoughts. Is this even a legit site? I don't think a legit site would ask such a stupid question lol.

[mrpsychoticstalker]

Kill what? Haven't you seen how popular the Xbox brand is now?

More to see at E3

[MasterCornholio]

Seems about as popular as before to me.

:I

It'll take time for the price cut to have its effect on sales given the fact that the Kinectless bundle wasn't even released yet.

[HollywoodLA]

If I'm not mistaken - Microsoft is the only hardware manufacturer that is currently losing money on each unit sold.

Sony/Nintendo = profit

Microsoft = loss

[Chanogram]

You are remembering incorrectly.
Nintendo makes profit. Sony is about break even, but was taking a loss on each unit sold at launch. MS stated that they actually were making a small profit on each console sold (first time for them at launch).

i believe that is part of the reason that Sony posted a loss in their gaming division this year dispite amazing PS4 sales.

Things change and i would expect all 3 to be turning profit on each unit sold by holiday as manufacturing costs drop a little.

[HollywoodLA]

Can you cite your sources?

[Naga]

@ HollywoodLA

Before you ask for sources from him, perhaps you should provide some of your own. You know, seeing how you made the claim in question.

[Chanogram]

Retarded title. Price drops do have a history of "killing" consoles though. /sarcsm

[AngelicIceDiamond]

Yep a console goes cheaper and has the potential to kill it.

Everyday is backwards day on N4G.

[KinjoTakemura]

I don't think the price cut will cause a massive wave of new sales numbers, but I do think it will help. Microsoft needs to understand that gamers want choices. Gamers don't like being forced into something they don't want, don't care about, and don't need. Voice commands are great, but gamers don't need it. Having a camera that's "All ways on/standby" is something else gamers do not want. At least DRM and paywalls are gone. Maybe Microsoft is finally getting it. The Xbox One should see some better sales numbers now that it's starting to be gamer friendly.

[thexmanone]

Xbox one is not in trouble. I would be more worried about Sony.