Sony Remembers Dancing, High-Fiving When Microsoft Announced $500 Xbox One

One of the biggest stories to come out of last year's E3 was the fact that Microsoft's Xbox One would launch for $500, a full $100 above Sony's rival PlayStation 4. In an interview with Ars Technica, PlayStation boss Scott Rohde recalled the day this announcement was made, saying it was a joyous moment to learn that Sony's box would have a $100 price advantage, for the first holiday season at least.

"I'm not gonna lie. I remember exactly where I was," Rohde said. "We were in press conference rehearsals last year. We had a feeling they were going to come in at $499, but we weren't sure. So yeah, we were dancing in the aisles and high-fiving. It was great. Anyone that came in on an interview, it didn't matter what the question was, I could always just answer it with $399. It was the answer to every question."

This moment was a long time coming for Sony. After all, the PlayStation 3 stumbled during its early days due to its premium price tag. Rohde was quick to admit Sony made mistakes in terms of pricing for the PS3.

"We thought we could overcome Microsoft in the previous generation because the first Xbox didn't have that great market penetration, and PlayStation 2 was so dominant in that era," Rohde said. "We wanted a machine in PlayStation 3 that was amazing, that could do everything, and completely misjudged how much the market could bear in terms of price point. Also, coming out a year late, it took us some catch up to get where we needed to be. But we're proud of where PS3 ended up and how it's still going strong today."

Microsoft started selling a Kinect-free Xbox One bundle in early June for $399, bringing the console in line, from a price perspective, with the PS4. Rohde admitted that Sony was anticipating this move from Microsoft. "I think that, to be truthful, we always assumed that eventually they'd have to release a SKU without a camera," he said. "So we were waiting for it to a degree, and we were ready for it."

The PS4 is outselling the Xbox One right now, but it may not be that way forever, according to Microsoft. The $399 Xbox One went on sale on June 9 and is "flying off the shelves" at GameStop. We'll have a better indication about sales when the NPD Group releases June figures early next month.