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[Memorabilia]

Price hike? This is the regular price. The gloating comes from people so sure of themselves the price would stay at $349. Now it looks like people have shifted gears and think that in a month or two it will drop again.

Well here's a prediction, it will drop after E3, and so will the PS4.

I wasn't aware that anyone said the price drop would be permanent. But, the "sale price" went on so long it effectively became the regular price in the minds of consumers. This is why raising the price back up will necessarily be temporary and, yes, is effectively a "price hike". Basic Advertising/Sales 101. Anywho, the fact that someone took time to gloat about it and literally tell people to "eat crow" is a bit much. In the end, the price will be coming back down sooner rather than later out of necessity so even if the "sale" wasn't permanent, it might as well be.

 

[Pound_lb003]

So there has to be a price drop at E3 then?

Will PS4 price drop?

 

[Man-is-Obsolete]

The gloat was because up until literally today people, a lot of people, adamantly believed it would stay at $349. They were wrong, those who said it would are saying "see I was right ", thisisneogaf, I don't see the problem.

 

[Puppet Shadow]

I wasn't aware that anyone said the price drop would be permanent.

Lots of people thought this, including myself. Someone pass the ketchup.

 

[Ricky_R]

I wasn't aware that anyone said the price drop would be permanent. But, the "sale price" went on so long it effectively became the regular price in the minds of consumers. This is why raising the price back up will necessarily be temporary and, yes, is effectively a "price hike". Basic Advertising/Sales 101. Anywho, the fact that someone took time to gloat about it and literally tell people to "eat crow" is a bit much. In the end, the price will be coming back down sooner rather than later out of necessity so even if the "sale" wasn't permanent, it might as well be.

Many people said the price wasn't going back up, but it did. Was a thread needed for that? I don't know, I'm not a thread judge.

 

[RedAssedApe]

Many people said the price wasn't going back up and it did. Was a thread needed for that? I don't know, I'm not a thread judge.

well its something to discuss. its only 90% about gloating

 

[alr1ght]

They do want to make some money on these things. They probably took a bath on those November fire sales.

 

[Petrae]

My guess is that a 1TB XBO model arrives sometime in the next 6-8 months at $400 and that's what will drop the 500GB model price. Could be E3, could be sooner.

No surprise here that the $400 price point has resumed, given what we knew from MS going into the holiday shopping season.

 

[jelly]

There was no sales gap in favour of the X1 in the UK. MS might have won a few weeks, but Sony weren't that far behind even then.

I'm at a loss as to why Sony are slashing the price so heavily on the PS4 though. Normally I'd assume retailer driven, but the £100 price cuts along with some of the insane bundles don't exactly seem like they are retailer driven.

I presume to stop your opponent standing up and getting a solid foothold, it's more than just a console and games now, your fighting for yearly subs, people are unlikely to subscribe to both. I think when Sony do price cut they'll absolutely nail Xbox to the wall like they did with the PS2 when the original Xbox entered the market. Your selling for 299, well the PS2 is 199 now, boom.

 

[Duxxy3]

Well no shit. January sales are gonna be back to pre-pricedrop level. By June, assuming they stay at this price, they should lose all of the gains they made in November and December.

 

[Ricky_R]

I think they brough the price up because either they were bleeding too much money or because they had to do as advertised and bring the price up so they can announce a proper price drop later on.

I just don't think they brought the price up again so they could test the waters. They know better than that.

 

[BibiMaghoo]

Many people said the price wasn't going back up, but it did. Was a thread needed for that? I don't know, I'm not a thread judge.

Crow threads are needed for humbling the most opinionated. It is good for the soul to be proven wrong.

Or something.

 

[Gucci Messiah]

Eh, not going to bite at that price. Was thinking very hard about getting an XBO at $350 after swearing off their products after the DRM fiasco..

 

[G0523]

If anyone wants an Xbox One for an affordable price, Amazon is currently selling the Assassin's Creed bundle for $329.99. (It says Click "Add to Cart" on the page but the price shows up when you do that anyway.)

So I guess it goes to show that while Microsoft may have reinstated the $399 MSRP, it doesn't mean that retailers have to.

 

[sangreal]

They did the same thing with the 360, so I fully expected the price to go back up after the holidays

 

[Ricky_R]

They did the same thing with the 360, so I fully expected the price to go back up after the holidays

Circumstances are quite different, though.

 

[ironcreed]

They hit a sweet spot on the price and then jack it back up just after it started taking effect. Just plain stupid.

 

[Valentus]

so MS bleed a shitload of money to reduce what... 600k to the PS4 between Nov-Dec?

And now the backfire starts because average joe will think "im buying it when it cost 350 + free games again!"

 

[3DShovel]

I think, for their sake, they should've kept the price at 350 a little longer to keep sticking it to Sony. But, nonetheless, the Xbox One and PS4 are both viable console options at this point, and I see both of them selling well regardless.

 

[Duxxy3]

so MS bleed a shitload of money to reduce what... 600k to the PS4 between Nov-Dec?

And now the backfire starts because average joe will think "im buying it when it cost 350 + free games again!"

Pretty much this. Once you've defined the bottom you can't just raise your price and expect people to follow. Now people have a new baseline price that they look for when buying an XB1.

It doesn't help that the system has fuck all announced for the first half of the year.

If I was getting a console in 2015 it sure as hell would not be a $399 XB1.

 

[Derpyduck]

If anyone wants an Xbox One for an affordable price, Amazon is currently selling the Assassin's Creed bundle for $329.99. (It says Click "Add to Cart" on the page but the price shows up when you do that anyway.)

So I guess it goes to show that while Microsoft may have reinstated the $399 MSRP, it doesn't mean that retailers have to.

It's still a worse deal than what they've been selling it for. Yesterday you could have bought it for 20 dollars more and received a 50 dollar Amazon gift card.

 

[gigantor21]

They hit a sweet spot on the price and then jack it back up just after it started taking effect. Just plain stupid.

It's true that this price cut is the only thing that put them back in contention in the States. Bundling Titanfall and removing Kinect didn't do anywhere near as much. But the $50-70 price cuts combined with giving away games like candy must of burned through cash like napalm. They wouldn't have said in advance it was temporary if they could afford to make it permanent.

The next several months will simply erode all the progress they made--and if Sony cuts the PS4's price, what are they gonna do? Sell a Halo 5 bundle at $250?

Spoiler

I really hope so.

Hemmoraging cash every holiday to stay a close second in one country--even the U.S.--doesn't seem like a viable long term strategy.

 

[kamakazi5]

so MS bleed a shitload of money to reduce what... 600k to the PS4 between Nov-Dec?

And now the backfire starts because average joe will think "im buying it when it cost 350 + free games again!"

I don't think the average Joe will even realize it was a cheaper price x months before.

 

[Jigorath]

So there has to be a price drop at E3 then?

Will PS4 price drop?

PS4 will probably have a price drop at E3. About the same point in time PS2 got it's first price drop.

 

[Elandyll]

because people have differing preferences?

Certainly, but looking objectively (as much as possible) at the sales over Nov-Dec, it's the insane deals bringing the "value" of the console itself as far down as $179/$199 for a while ($349 with $100 in MSRP of games, and a $50-$70 gc for some time on top) that caused so many to take the plunge recently.
We'll have to see if the admitedly very good sale numbers created a mindshare and a domino effect...

 

[jond76]

Pretty much this. Once you've defined the bottom you can't just raise your price and expect people to follow. Now people have a new baseline price that they look for when buying an XB1.

It doesn't help that the system has fuck all announced for the first half of the year.

If I was getting a console in 2015 it sure as hell would not be a $399 XB1.

They always made it clear that it was a holiday promo.

Also, did the exclusives that already came out vanish off store shelves? There are plenty of exclusive games to make a purchase worthwhile. Your logic seems to state that the only games worth getting are the ones yet to come out.

 

[Duxxy3]

I don't think the average Joe will even realize it was a cheaper price x months before.

If it was a black friday sale, I'd agree with you. This was a price drop for two months.

 

[motorised mallard]

I don't think the average Joe will even realize it was a cheaper price x months before.

You underestimate them.

 

[Kosma]

Why would people buy now knowing the price will be lower again?

 

[Mpl90]

I don't think the average Joe will even realize it was a cheaper price x months before.

I suppose they will realize that a thing they saw being at 349.99 during Holidays is now 399.99, though.

 

[Mikey Jr.]

I think Ms was more worried about ps4 momentum in USA.

Ms essentially stopped that momentum, so they are ok with going back up to 399.

Who knows, maybe Ms has the momentum now.

 

[Teletraan1]

I predicted it would go back up. Yay me.

I think Ms was more worried about ps4 momentum in USA.

Ms essentially stopped that momentum, so they are ok with going back up to 399.

Who knows, maybe Ms has the momentum now.

Are you sure momentum was stopped? By cutting a large lead? How can you even say this after 1 month of data where they were practically giving the thing away with free games and gift cards? We will know more about momentum in the coming months.

 

[Mpl90]

Now that I think about it, what's the availability of the AC bundle currently? The bundle was a time-limited offering as well, aside from the Holiday price cut, right?

 

[ItIsOkBro]

so MS bleed a shitload of money to reduce what... 600k to the PS4 between Nov-Dec?

And now the backfire starts because average joe will think "im buying it when it cost 350 + free games again!"

what about "im buying it now before the price goes up again!"

 

[Tigress]

... (ended up double posting this, oops)

 

[RayMaker]

If you roast crow breast on the bone with thyme and butter and braise the legs in wine and shallots it makes a rather delicious crow pie.

 

[On Demand]

I think Ms was more worried about ps4 momentum in USA.

Ms essentially stopped that momentum, so they are ok with going back up to 399.

Who knows, maybe Ms has the momentum now.

This is what they're hoping for i bet. I'll watching the charts this week to see if XB1 falls down to its usual places.

 

[Tigress]

Hemmoraging cash every holiday to stay a close second in one country--even the U.S.--doesn't seem like a viable long term strategy.

But letting the other console get too much a jump ahead (or even just not selling enough of yours) is not a good long term strategy cause in the console market once the other console gets too far ahead it doesn't look as appealing to developers which in turn makes it not appealing to customers and you enter a downward spiral that is really hard to recover from. At some point you start getting labelled as dead whether that is true or not and that really kills momentum.

I honestly think MS did the right thing here in making sure that they didn't fall into that downward spiral before there was a chance of it (I am not saying they necessarily would have if they had not but I think this was to assure that didn't happen) cause once you do, it is really hard to come back from that (ask Wii U or Vita about that).

I think that even though this will slow sales they have managed to break that image of failing/losing to PS4 and that I think was their ultimate goal. They can't have a success if their perception starts being failed/lost to PS4. I think they just wanted to stop the perception that it was happening and start the perception that xbox one is a viable console (which it is but it wouldn't be if they kept allowing that perception to get stronger). You don't need to be seen as the winner to have success but you do need to at least be seen as a viable contender.

Edit: Oh wow, it double posted this rather than edited my previous post... I'm sorry. It didn't save my change at first and I used the back button to go back to the edit and apparently it decided that made it a new post?

 

[SEGAvangelist]

If you roast crow breast on the bone with thyme and butter and braise the legs in wine and shallots it makes a rather delicious crow pie.

That's real cookin'!

 

[ironcreed]

It's true that this price cut is the only thing that put them back in contention in the States. Bundling Titanfall and removing Kinect didn't do anywhere near as much. But the $50-70 price cuts combined with giving away games like candy must of burned through cash like napalm. They wouldn't have said in advance it was temporary if they could afford to make it permanent.

The next several months will simply erode all the progress they made--and if Sony cuts the PS4's price, what are they gonna do? Sell a Halo 5 bundle at $250?

Spoiler

I really hope so.

Hemmoraging cash every holiday to stay a close second in one country--even the U.S.--doesn't seem like a viable long term strategy.

Indeed. They pretty much cut their nose off just to spite their face. And for what? To win a month or two in the US before pulling the rug out from underneath consumers that are finally showing more interest?

I love my Xbox One, but man, I am truly baffled by the short-sightedness here. They will end up having to drop it again. Which will probably be when Sony cuts the price on the PS4. At which point, it will not have as great of an effect as it would in the long run by just continuing to undercut Sony now.

 

[kamakazi5]

If it was a black friday sale, I'd agree with you. This was a price drop for two months.

In the short term, sure. I just don't see many people walking into a store come summer thinking to themselves that the console was $50 cheaper 6 months ago and walking away. People are strange though.

 

[Kosma]

In the short term, sure. I just don't see many people walking into a store come summer thinking to themselves that the console was $50 cheaper 6 months ago and walking away. People are strange though.

They will just wait for another sale

 

[Wildarmsjecht]

"I know how low you are willing to go.

I'd venture a guess that you can go even lower.

Perhaps even with bonuses.

I can wait."

This is my mentality. At some point I may consider an X1, but it was always to be at a fairly low price. I already have a ps4, pay for plus, so a lump sum as well as another subscription cannot be easily stomached until the base price drops or they throw some live sub's in as well.


This proves that they will go low when needed. Maybe even fully undercut ps4 when it does its price drop. Which means, I can wait patiently for that.

 

[Derpyduck]

Indeed. They pretty much cut their nose off just to spite their face. And for what? To win a month or two in the US before pulling the rug out from underneath consumers that are finally showing more interest?

I love my Xbox One, but man, I am truly baffled by the short-sightedness here. They will end up having to drop it again. Which will probably be when Sony cuts the price on the PS4. At which point, it will not have as great of an effect as it would in the long run by just continuing to undercut Sony now.

Is it really pulling the rug out from underneath consumers if you tell them months in advance the exact date you're going to put the price back to where it was?

 

[Duxxy3]

In the short term, sure. I just don't see many people walking into a store come summer thinking to themselves that the console was $50 cheaper 6 months ago and walking away. People are strange though.

The way people are still holding onto their 360's (I saw a lot of it this holiday) I don't expect sales to get above 40/50k a week until the price hits $299.

$299 is going to be the next big system seller. Next-gen only Call of Duty would be the next largest. 360 version of the game is still the best selling version, even though the next gen systems look and run better. It's "good enough" for a lot of people.

edit: I should clarify - a system seller outside of holiday months.

 

[Muppet of a Man]

They couldn't sustain selling the console at that big of a loss forever. They will lower the price permanently when they put out a console revision where the APU is made on a smaller die (i.e., lower nm node for lower TDP).

 

[vpance]

Yep. In my opinion both consoles will be $299 by fall 2015 at the latest.

This just might be the shortest console generation ever, if this fast and furious race to the bottom pricing continues.

$299 this year
$199 in 2016
$99 in 2017, next gen announced for launch in 2018

 

[TomShoe]

If anyone wants an Xbox One for an affordable price, Amazon is currently selling the Assassin's Creed bundle for $329.99. (It says Click "Add to Cart" on the page but the price shows up when you do that anyway.)

So I guess it goes to show that while Microsoft may have reinstated the $399 MSRP, it doesn't mean that retailers have to.

It's more about clearing stock than anything. Amazon is likely trying to sell off the few bundles remaining because they're being discontinued, another reason the base Xbox One isn't being sold, because they need to clear out the last of those sleeves and Unity cards, which are pretty de-valued by now.

 

[BokehKing]

It was price plus giving away stuff that pushed the system
Was the Co sole sold at $350 with out the free games during all that time?

 

[ironcreed]

Is it really pulling the rug out from underneath consumers if you tell them months in advance the exact date you're going to put the price back to where it was?

Many will not even know that it was temporary and will have just heard about it being $350. But regardless, $350 was working and jacking it back up will clearly not help them in the long run.