The holiday console wars just got a good deal more interesting.
Microsoft announced today that it will cut the price of its Xbox One console by $50 for the holidays. The temporary discount starts on Nov. 2 and applies to all bundles of the system, including consoles that come with big holiday releases like Sunset Overdrive, Assassin’s Creed: Unity, and Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare. Xbox Ones without the Kinect motion-tracking camera cost $350 during the promotion, while those with it go for $450. The offer ends Jan. 3.
This is a bold and unusual move. Holiday price cuts aren’t all that rare, but they’re usually permanent. Also, the Xbox One is still a relatively new system that’s selling well. However, it’s not selling as well as its rival, the PlayStation 4. No doubt this strategy is all about Microsoft getting more Xbox Ones under Christmas trees than its biggest competitor does.
“Fans don’t have to wait for Black Friday this year to enjoy great savings on Xbox One. We’re offering our best price yet, with unprecedented choices and value, so more people can play on Xbox One this holiday,” said Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of Microsoft, on the system’s official site. “We’re gearing up for one of our biggest holidays ever, and we are thrilled to offer fans up to $150 in savings on Xbox One and some of the biggest blockbuster games of the season.”
The PlayStation 4 costs $400, the price that it launched at back in November. The Xbox One launched in the same month, but it was initially only available for $500. That was because consumers could only buy the console bundled with the Kinect, but Microsoft would later start selling Kinect-less systems for $400.
The discounted Xbox One will be available at most U.S. retailers, including Amazon, Best Buy, GameStop, Microsoft Stores, Target, Toys ‘R’ Us, and Walmart.