I got this info from Gamespot. Sigh. With boneheaded decisions like this, Microsoft might as well hand the next generation of console gaming over to Sony.
I suspect MS is testing the market for digital-only more than they're actually trying to sell a bunch of these. It's all about the next gen at this point.
They really need to sell these things at a loss to get people used to the idea of an all-digital/streaming future. If this was an Xbox One X and it was $200, then they might have something that might be a bit compelling before the new consoles next year.
It is funny to see Microsoft, who had to do damage control for ages because people fought so hard against a console that needed an internet connection to years later releasing a version of the Xbox that quite literally requires one.
The price point is kinda steep and it’s weird that from what I saw they’re bundling Forza Horizon 3 with it (among other titles) instead of Horizon 4, which makes it seem like a real weird bargain bin package.
Also no matter how often and how large they will write “no disc drive” on this thing, I’m certain plenty of parents that have no idea about games and no time to look it up will just grab it off the shelf not knowing what it is. Microsoft has come a long way but man their messaging and branding is still confusing as hell. You have a PS4, PS4 Slim and a PS4 Pro - those all are somewhat self explanatory. Then you have an Xbox One, Xbox One S, Xbox One X and now this thing which I forgot the designation but it’s another weird letter combo.
I don't get all the hate isn't more versions of a console a + in marketing terms? Think about the dumb spaghetti sauce thing they tell you in every sales seminar.
Sub $200 and I would've bought one of these just to get the backwards compatibility. Now I'll just hold out until it drops in price. I also would've rather seen them offer a 6 month sub to Game Pass instead of bundling in those three games.
You know I really don't like the idea of a discless console. I fear that without competition from sales and pre owned games from actual shops that the pricing for games will be fucked.
@alexw00d: They mean disc-less as in it has no drive to accept physical media discs like blu-rays or DVDs. Which means that they consider the ability to play Bluray movies on this thing to be worth about $50 of your money, which maybe puts a bit more light on why Sony didn't bother including a 4k bluray player.
The blu ray version currently goes for about $180, so if the digital one is $70 more and isn't smaller lighter more portable like a Nvidia Shield its a real bad deal. Those pack in games are all on game pass too.
I don't really see the issue here. Its a console for a target audience, much like the half step consoles that we have today. I'm sure many people own the S that only have digital games, and I can guarantee many people own the S and have never used the Bluray player either. If someone owns an original xbox one and wants to upgrade to a smaller box but doesn't want to play the X premium, they have another option. Besides, MS has a disc trade in program already in place to receive codes for your physical discs. I understand a lot of people aren't behind the "disc-less future" but the console space is becoming more and more pc like, where many of those users don't have disc drives either. I don't see the problem with more options for more people.
As someone who has never inserted a single disc into my PS4 or my Xbox One X, I can see the market for this, assuming the pricing makes sense eventually.
I'm sure this will drop down near $200 by the holidays, at which point it will be a good deal. I also expect this is more of MS testing the waters for the next generation then expecting to sell a ton of these (I also expect next gen this will be at most an option and that there will still be Xbox consoles with disc drives).
Yeah, it's kind of dumb, but as some have said they're probably just testing it out to see how well it would do. I think to make it more of a sell though is if it were a digital-only Xbox One X because then you at least have the benefit of higher resolution and perhaps frame rate for games. An S though? Eh. Plus, while I don't care as much for the game part personally since I buy many of my games digitally now anyway, I still like watching movies on disc and hope 4K Blu-rays do well enough to keep going. That said, while I don't love that they're putting this out and at its price point (I mean, I don't really care; it's not for me anyway), it doesn't worry me about whatever they're doing next-gen.
@ntm: But do you get an accurate view on the willingness to go all digital when the price doesn't make much sense ? There must be plenty of people that would be willing to go all digital, but see a bundle for the same price that includes a game + discdrive and opt for that instead. Or if you didn't care for that game (& the ability to sell it on) you could opt for the version that comes with 3 months of gamepass + xbox live gold instead. Even if you had 0 interest in physical media, people have an interest in keeping some of their dollars in their wallet if they can :)
If you made this thing available for 20-30$ less, there would be an actual decision to be made between 'do i go digital only for the cheaper price, or do i care enough about physical media that i'm willing to pay that 20-30$ extra?' That would make a whole lot more sense to me.
edit: after some thinking, maybe this pricepoint does make sense. They don't want to get the numbers muddied by the amount of people that will just go for the cheapest model instead of having an opinion on digital vs physical. If it sells to internal expectations at this 'worse case scenario', microsoft knows what they can expect at worst in the future. And they can always dial down the price to check the price elasticity of this new model. Yeah, i think they thought this through after all :D
@onemanarmyy: Hmm, sorry I don't really understand what you're trying to debate. I mean, I don't disagree with you. I'm curious what you attached onto with my comment to reply since there's nothing you said that I have an issue with. Is it because I said I don't buy physical that much anymore?
@onemanarmyy: Oh, yeah. I don't actually know. It's just one of the reasons that may be why they're doing it, but I'm not confident one way or another. I guess I was just saying that that may be the reason. On the flip side, yeah it wouldn't make a lot of sense because obviously there are those that are clearly saying this isn't worth it, and Microsoft should know that. Then again, maybe if you look at it from a walk in the store and buy it off the shelf kind of thing, which one do most people choose? As well as buying from their site. Maybe they are looking at that, which, again, wouldn't be entirely wise since not everyone buys consoles that way. Maybe they just aren't targetting those that will seek out sales and what have you. It'd be kind of disappointing if they were targetting those specifically not in the know, about bundles/sales, etc.
That's waaaaaay too expensive. For $150 I'd maybe consider picking one up just to have for the odd game, but that price is insane when you can get an actual xbox with games for about the same price.
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