Does the XB1s price drop really make it competitive?

It's great to hear Microsoft is becoming more competitive due to fierce competition.

Yesterday we had a torrent of news that Microsoft is most likely or is removing apps from behind it's draconian pay wall and consumers got a more friendly priced kinectless sku for $399 starting June 9th.

The question is does this SKU really make the one more competitive? It remains to be seen though I personally don' think so. Why? Let's take a look at why I don't think it will.

Xbox one was priced at $450 With March's biggest release Titanfall. While Titanfall went on to be the top selling game of March.

Making it cheaper than the PS4

Regardless it still failed to outsell the PS4 in the month of March with the years seemingly biggest game with 70+ awards and had garnered a massive amount of hype and critical praise.

It's definitely going to be an interesting summer for the XB1, while it remains to be seen whether or not how competitive it will become. Microsoft and the XB1 definitely have an interesting road to travel over the next 6 months.

So in part do you think the One will truly become competitive now? Or will it stay the course as it has been?

Well, as I said in the other thread:

It's all about the consumer's psyche, my friend. The 'sub $400' mark is psychologically a good place to be at. Sure, $450 for Xbox One with Titanfall was in fact a better deal than a $399 Xbox One by itself, but it was still over $400, which is psychologically a lot of money to spend in one go- the price drop should see an uptick in sales now, especially given the other, friendlier policy changes Microsoft are implementing (such as the new Xbox Live Gold).

Outside the US ? Not at all.

I was hoping you'd bring it over :D

I figured lol.

But yeah, I don't know how much of an effect it will have internationally, to be fair. I think in the US, the Xbox One has a real, legitimate shot at overtaking the PS4 now, however.

Really remains to be seen. It's had a lot of bad juju. This E3 is a make or break for the one.

Of course it does. Especially since right now it has a better lineup of games than the PS4.

I hate to say it a better line up is really subjective man. Sure games are in this weird place where they can be universally praised but most games are seen through a subjective mindset. A game like titanfall I can understand at it's core why it's awesome and why people like it ( and I enjoy it) but otherwise I just find it to be a better call of duty with vertical mechanics and better gameplay mechanics.

Remains to be seen. Lot's of negative and positive reaction for the Kinect drop. I'm curious to see if the sales do pick up. I most likely won't be supporting MS for the rest of this gen. I'll just continue playing most games on my PC with the occasional console game mixed in.

The price drop will help, but the refocus on games, the Games with Gold reboot, and the consistent changing of bad business practices will help it in the long run. Games, price, and features sell consoles. Always have, always will. MS sold 80+ million 360s, while PS3 did the same. PS4 is at 7+ million, Xbox One at 4+ million. There are millions and millions of gamers who haven't jumped next gen yet, and MS is righting the ship within 6 months of release. I expect both companies will be very competitive. This gen has only just begun, and with those many gamers who haven't jumped to next gen, I'd say the Xbox One will be just fine. That's not a prediction it'll leap past the PS4. But that's not a belief that it would be impossible either. Good times ahead. E3 may be the best ever this year.

yes it does.

Being the weaker console only really matters in places like SW. Out in the real world most people who game arent aware of anything about none of the stuff we fight about and make huge deals about. And frankly, most dont care or see it as something to worry about, as long as its affordable and it has games like casual bro dude games like COD, Battlefield, FIFA, NBA2K, NFL Madden, HALO, Gears, Forza.

It's going to be interesting to say the least. While MS is still fixing E3 last year it remains to be seen. They have to make it a clear message that DRM doesn't exist to the normal consumer. That have to show they're machine is on par with PS4 ATM. A lot of beneficial press things need to be said.

Agreed. I think everything done this week has been strategic so that at E3, they bomb people with games. I expect all new apps and features to be revealed before E3 as well. Time will tell on all fronts as so much could change. But a competitive gen is what I expect. I deep down think Sony will win it, but MS will clean up in the UK and US enough to be profitable and the One a success.

Sure, if it has games one wants. That's all that matters. The WiiU is way less powerful than both of those consoles, and I personally think it has a better game selection.

A weaker console for the same price? It's certainly not competitive if you're paying attention.

If the Xbox One couldn't outsell the Playstation 4 in March, in North America when there were $450 Titanfall bundles (the biggest Xbox One release yet), then clearly, a $400 bundle without Kinect isn't going to be competitive.

The way I see it it is just part of a step in a better direction, in terms of being more competitive with PS4, especially for the casual market t whom a 100$ or 50$ price difference can be a deal breaker. For myself, the price difference was never a factor in my decision, it was more about which console fits my needs most, and there was the obvious brand loyalty aspect of it as a satisfied 360 customer.....I just wanted more Xbox basically.

However, considering XBL will now give you free games, this combined with the price drop is a smart move overall, and makes it more competitive....but its only a start.....they need a magnificent E3, I hope they deliver. I'm glad they are doing all this in an effort to appease customers and increase sales, increasing the install base is good.....a company these days has to be flexible and reactive to stay alive, and that is what MS is doing, they wanna reach more people now.

not really but at least better than the $500 forced kinect one.

The UK is tough turf man.

The option to not include a Kinect could yield in fewer developers bothering to support it, I mean that's the entire reason they wanted to include it to begin with. Price for price, it often comes down to what someone's friends are getting. Community driven players lean on MS side due from their experience with great MP matches with friends. I think both Sony and MS will do just fine as far as usage numbers go. I doubt neither will exactly be taking it all to the bank or anything. Their future is definitely not in making proprietary hardware.

@Nengo_Flow:

That's how I see it. Not saying the price cut will make it overtake Sony right away or even ever but the price drop can change a lot.

I argue the same points with friends all the time. The majority of consumers out there buying these systems have no idea about what gets said on these forums. No knowledge of resolutions or frame rates. To the average consumer price and games matter.

When a mom and dad go into a store to buy their kid a new system for a gift they see price and they see the name.

With all systems last gen selling as much as they did and considering where all three new gen consoles are sitting now that leaves a whole lot of upgrades and first time buyers out there.

Having mostly the same games and now the same price the PS4 and X1 are in a nice little fight.

Also while I think the $399 price point is a good number for the hard cores and "regular" system buyers I really want to see what happens when one of the big two get to the $299-300 price point.

I think it will make a difference, but I think they should have priced it less than the PS4 to get a real edge. $350 would have been outstanding.

Yeah, it just comes down to games and neither console has anything good yet.

Maybe xb1 should be $350 because it's weaker.

I'll wait for the redesigns to choose one i think

If CNET is correct, i'm not 100% sure. the console would lose $50 per console made.

Price is not the issue the Xbox One is facing, not at all. Taking the Kinect out does nothing but hit the relatively small hold-out of people who wanted an Xbox One minus the Kinect. The console would've sold just fine at $499 had they just found a way to market the console better. Thats why I say nothing they announce at E3 will matter if they continue with the same marketing approach they've used this last year.

And considering Mehdi is the head of Marketing for Xbox, i'm not surprised this aspect has been one of the few things to have gone unchanged. When the marketing approach gets changed, then we might finally see the rise of the Xbox One.

I think it'll definitely will move some numbers.

I am willing to bet there is a lot of people that waited for this type of a change.

Depends on location.

It will sell more but it gets the worst version of multiplats is flat out inferior and now offers no tech difference than PS4 yet costs the same. Even the TV stuff is borked now that you don't have Kinect to IR blast to all of your devices. You'll have to juggle remotes to make it work.

Sure it'll be competitive. Now we have two systems that are basically minor upgrades to their previous versions with no real "can't miss" software available to distinguish themselves. All of the shit talking about power does nothing if your library isn't up to snuff.

At least the Harmony remote is compatible with the One. Wish I could say the same for the PS4.

No but I think it's a step in the right direction.

Even with cheap free games like TitanFree nobody wanted that crap

Its not about the price.. the xbox brand as a whole is becoming unappealing to many gamers because seeing how big 360 was last gen especially the US the XOne should have had a big impact from the get go even if it was priced at $550 but seeing how that wasnt the case proves the appeal for the brand have gone away so in my personal few i dont think this price drop will have much of an impact i mean MS tried to sell a the console with the kinect and a free new game and did that do well? nope.

if the sales dont change in the next 4 to 5 months i expect yet another lulz worthy price drop from MS by $50 to lower the console to $350.

Flip flopping won't help Microsoft as this point. The Kinect-less SKU was more or less an admission of defeat. Microsoft simply doesn't know if they want the Kinect to be essential to the experience or not. Aside from using the Kinect to data-mine and sell your personal information to advertisers, they haven't the slightest clue on how to actually make a single interesting game that is based around the Kinect. Any consumer should be completely puzzled by Microsoft's strategy at this point. I was confused from the get-go...who the hell wants a giant camera box sitting in front of their TV? It's like some big, disgusting monolith. That alone is incentive for people want to avoid your product. Only kids and teenagers with no semblance of having a clean entertainment center would want to muck it up with that ugly Kinect.

Furthermore, why spend $400 for an incomplete XB1 experience, when you can get the a complete PS4 experience, which offers significantly more than what the XB1 is capable of?

If it just get enough good games so sure why not

@aroxx_ab: Bungie is giving Halo but better to every platform. You might gain Fable 3 but you get the worst version of Witcher 3, Dragon Age 3, and every other multiplat RPG out there. You can stretch that across every genre that MS competes in and throw in that for most exclusives, Sony will have a similar title so it's not like you'd be missing out on anything.

You can get the PS4 for $399 or a PS4 but worse for $399. Not a tough choice imo to make imo.

It's a definite step in the right direction. If they manage to hit $350 before Sony manages a price drop, then it could be a huge boon. If it stays at $400 in Canada, then it already has an advantage over the PS4, by being $50 cheaper.

Does your complete PS4 experience include things I want like Quantum Break, Killer Instinct Season 2, Gears of War 4, Titanfall, Sunset Overdrive, Halo 2 Anniversary, Forza Horizon 2, Fable Legends, or Halo 5? Can you Snap a app while playing a game? Does it have the NFL app for Fantasy Football players? Quick switching from game to home to app? Those things are part of the $400 Xbox One experience, and are not on PS4, hence my purchase of the One. And what did you think of Sony flip-flopping and charging for PSN? Just curious.

But seriously, MS had to make some changes and did. The result is better than if they'd done nothing and had just been so prideful they ran the One into the ground. If the PS4 were not the fastest selling console ever, the Xbox One would be. MS needed price parity, needed to improve Games with Gold, needed to gain more consumer support by taking away the paywall from entertainment apps, and needed to remove a device alot of people just didn't want. They did all of those things and that was smart.

Sony didn't really flip flop. They did it once and it stuck. They took logical and the correct steps to implement payed online play.

They didn't go back and forth on it......

Now lets talk about MS flip flopping on games with gold. That's rich.

Wasn't it $399 with Titanfall bundled, and not $450?

http://microsoft-news.com/great-deal-xbox-one-titanfall-edition-bundle-for-just-399/

What. The. Fuk.

Did you even read that while you were typing it?

Should have been less than PS4 every where. Would have had a big impact then.

Down to who has a better E3 now.

I know right? Hahahahah

MS is making the x180 just like the ps4 seems like. So why not just get a ps4 with better multiplats and more exclusives ??

Not like the x180 is going to get faster memory or a better gpu anytime soon. You would NOT buy a weaker gpu for your pc at the same price as a better gpu for you gaming pc would you. Yet this is what MS wants xbots to do it seems. They got gimped hardware so they could put the spycam in the box. Now they dump the cam that was glitchy at best and say hey now we are the same price as the ps4.

We got no paywall like the ps4 and we are also going to copy psn+. Unless they have bought a Naughty God level dev it's going to be the same thing as the 360. Also that whole e3 thing has to give you pause IMO as to who your dealing with when they got up on stage and gave the finger to consolites and retail.

I think I got drunk reading it.

Its still being inferior and more expensive, I'd say, Nope, not yet,

@scottpsfan14 said:

@shawn30 said:

@KHAndAnime said:

Flip flopping won't help Microsoft as this point. The Kinect-less SKU was more or less an admission of defeat. Microsoft simply doesn't know if they want the Kinect to be essential to the experience or not. Aside from using the Kinect to data-mine and sell your personal information to advertisers, they haven't the slightest clue on how to actually make a single interesting game that is based around the Kinect. Any consumer should be completely puzzled by Microsoft's strategy at this point. I was confused from the get-go...who the hell wants a giant camera box sitting in front of their TV? It's like some big, disgusting monolith. That alone is incentive for people want to avoid your product. Only kids and teenagers with no semblance of having a clean entertainment center would want to muck it up with that ugly Kinect.

Furthermore, why spend $400 for an incomplete XB1 experience, when you can get the a complete PS4 experience, which offers significantly more than what the XB1 is capable of?

Does your complete PS4 experience include things I want like Quantum Break, Killer Instinct Season 2, Gears of War 4, Titanfall, Sunset Overdrive, Halo 2 Anniversary, Forza Horizon 2, Fable Legends, or Halo 5? Can you Snap a app while playing a game? Does it have the NFL app for Fantasy Football players? Quick switching from game to home to app? Those things are part of the $400 Xbox One experience, and are not on PS4, hence my purchase of the One. And what did you think of Sony flip-flopping and charging for PSN? Just curious.

But seriously, MS had to make some changes and did. The result is better than if they'd done nothing and had just been so prideful they ran the One into the ground. If the PS4 were not the fastest selling console ever, the Xbox One would be. MS needed price parity, needed to improve Games with Gold, needed to gain more consumer support by taking away the paywall from entertainment apps, and needed to remove a device alot of people just didn't want. They did all of those things and that was smart.

Well whatever floats your boat. If Uncharted, TLOU, Quantic Dream titles, GoW, Twisted Metal, Gran Turismo, and the possibility of many older Playstation IP's (that far out number Xbox) getting updates pleases you, oh and better multiplats, then Playstation is the way to go. Killer Instinct was better on the N64 and Arcades. Had much more charm. Rare has lost the plot. Because they left Nintendo. Microsoft has killed a great software house :( Now they are going to do the same to Insomniac, if not with Sunset, then very soon after. Kind of like Rare, Kameo Elements of Power was a pretty good game by Rare for the 360, then they just went fucked up after that. Quantum Break will fall short of next gen Naughty Dog stuff, sorry to break it to you. It's the poor man's cinematic game.

Also, I don't care about switching to different apps on a console because I use PC and an Android tablet for that. Also, with a simple double-tap of the PS button, you can switch from a game to Nexflix, Browser, or any app on the OS. All the advantages XB1 has at the moment will be short lived.

Microsoft can't do no wrong with you people. The Xbox One vision they created well over a year ago has been almost entirely changed because they would have failed harder than the Wii U. They just can't be trusted. They tried to make as much dough as possible by ripping off the public to the max degree. And you think it's "smart" of them because they were sorry they were caught? What Microsoft had on the drawing Board for the Xbox One is pretty much gone. What inconsistent fools Microsoft are. No vision at all. Then again they never have innovated. This is why worshiping corporations is just stupid.

Its doesn't really matter to me what system you buy so long as you enjoy it. I could give a rats ass about 1080p, and care far more for Halo and gears than playing on the PS4 at higher resolutions. Killer Instinct reviewed and sold very well, and is getting a full season 2 and is a success all around. Sorry you don't feel its charming, lol. And if you have a copy of Quantum Break, please PM how much you want for it because I would be happy to buy the full retail copy you obviously have since you know it is inferior to a ND game. And its cool you can quick switch with tablets and a PC, but I can with my console and enjoy that aspect very much. And yes, MS can do wrong with most reasonable Xbox fans. I think none of us thought they should have priced it at $500, and that the always online DRM should have been an option rather than an attempted force of it. I have also felt that Games with Gold sucked ass in comparison to PSN+, and am very happy they fixed that.

The vision for Xbox One was the all in one entertainment system for games, apps, and voice/motion controls. That hasn't changed at all. Kinect will still be updated, optimized and supported on the OS side at least. But none of the apps, or how the console can be used have been taken away. New apps and features and games are coming, and all will do exactly what they intended from the start. The difference is people simply have a choice now, which is what most gamers wanted anyway. As for trusting MS, if you trust any billion dollar corporation you are a complete idiot. I like the device they sell, so I paid for it. That's the beginning and end of my trust of MS. I suppose your poor old Uncle Sony hugs you before bed each night and reads you a story, right, lol. Worshiping a corporation is insane, but blind trust in one to the degree you have in Sony is just as bad or worse.