This console cycle has been so interesting, and all the ways that Microsoft has been trying to stabilize the Xbox One has been a big part of that. I also think that the PS3 is informing a lot of these decisions; they have a great model of what happens to your new console when you decide to stick to your guns in spite of consumer feedback. Interested to see how/if Sony responds.

Also, REALLY wish the Sunset Overdrive bundle wasn't a white Xbox One. I'm gonna feel so dumb for spending an extra $60 to buy the console and game separately just to get a black Xbox.

It sure appears to desperate to me. They are still trying to play catch up for their launch fiasco and trying to recapture some market share and there isn't a better way then to drop the price.

They are barely profiting on the system as is so for them to drop the price appears they are still worried about Sony gaining ground on them. I'd be surprised if Sony doesn't follow suit at some point.

No MCC bundle - I think I know why. Bundled games, not "choose from any game and you get it for free later" like MS ran with Destiny, do not count in sales. They want to maximize MCC sales this way. They'll no doubt get another "choose whatev game for free when you buy an XbOne" in time for MCC, I doubt they'll squeeze out Yet Another Freaking Bundle.

Not really. The original XBox dropped in price less than 6 months after launch. The 360 was the anomaly of the Microsoft console lineup.

Better to be "desperate" and move consoles than be stubborn and have shitty sales. Worked on you and plenty of other people, so who cares how it looks? I don't even agree that they're desperate - the console has sold fine, we just live in an society of the moronic opinion that if you're not #1 you're failing miserably.

I guess we'll see if it works. They've tried giving away most of the big games this year for free and still are falling farther behind every month and just got destroyed in the NPD's. Their sales have been pretty bad this year overall.

I now need the Kinect in order to play D4 though, and the thing I'm really waiting for is Remedy's next game, so I'll wait.

Those stilted interviews in the promotion video just stoked up some kind of irritation in me with the way the business world works. I can't shake the feeling those guys primarily regard what they are selling as indistinct products and couldn't really care less about the features they are touting, but they got a business degree and glad-handed the right people, and live in the right region and...yeah I think I just don't like my job.

How very dare they make the console more affordable!

The cheek of it!

I'm getting the Sunset Overdrive bundle. If that CoD edition wasn't so damn ugly, I'd be all over that 1TB.

It's business. "Desperation" is a silly way to look at it. There are no emotions or feelings. If your competition is selling better, you need to adapt. Looking "desperate" is better than doing nothing. It's about the numbers in the end.

Baby murdering is a hard thing to forgive.

@lvl3bard said:

A 30% price cut for a console that's been on the market for less than 12 months is the definition of desperate. Their sales must be terrible if they're willing to cut so much so fast.

I'm with you. If this is "desperate," then so is every other discounted product ever. Desperation abounds, apparently. I don't get this shit. MS launches X1 with Kinect for $500, people whine that they don't need/want the Kinect and that it costs too much. MS sells cheaper, Kinect-less X1s, people whine that they aren't getting the full system. MS throws in a free game and cuts the price for the holidays, people whine that it's proof Microsoft is "desperate". Well, what the f*** do you want, then? Maybe this is all just PS4 fanboy bullshit or something from folks "desperate" to have any first-party game worth buying this Fall, or maybe it's from PC elitists who get their jollies crapping on consoles so they can try to justify having to buy new hardware every year to even be able to run new games; I don't know. Regardless, it's beyond tiresome.

Consumers are winning the shit out of this, yet they apparently remain offended. How fucking entitled can you get? Here's a system selling for essentially $150 less (likely more, depending on Black Friday deals) a year from its release date. And didn't people laud Sony for a $100 price cut on the PS3 (which, BTW, still was going for $399/$499 at this point seven fucking years ago)? I guess since it's Microsoft, this is a bad thing? It's a company strongly backing a product by literally putting their money where their mouth is, and the result is a freaking steal. And even if you're a PS4 guy, MS pricing this aggressively for the holidays probably has a net result of Sony being forced to throw you a bone in response or put their sales lead in this console cycle at serious risk. Competition benefits everyone. I don't understand all the outrage here. At all.

The general lack of business acumen and common sense is astounding sometimes.

Wait for Black Friday folks. If they are dropping it this much now I expect a huge drop or a bunch of games thrown in by retailers.

This is why I was so excited when every month the PS4 beats the Xbox One in sales. It creates deals like this which is nice for consumers. Looking forward to picking one up.

Well. Fucking. Said.

And I have a PS4, WiiU and PC. Gaming seems rife with cynical jackholes.

Smart for Microsoft,

Playstation is still the better system by a mile but this can only help sales.

It's also a sign they are getting at least a bit desperate. Two price drops within a year?

At $350 the Xbox seems super attractive but the probability of seeing that price in Toronto (even on Black Friday) is slim.

No one's saying they are offended because of the price or that it's a bad thing for consumers, they're just pointing out that it's a desperate move.

I'm glad they're desperate if it means we get cheap stuff.

Hey Phil, how's it going?

They should make a Alien Isolation edition since it already does look a lot like something from the 80s.

@alistercat: US only. No Canada or UK at this time. Bummer. @patrickklepek

as if they PS4 isn't also going to be discounted now

Think about how long it took for people to forgive Sony last generation. I hardly see it as something exclusive to microsoft.

@almightyboob: I wouldn't say it's a garunteed but I wouldn't be suprised either . Sony may look at their sales lead and deem it unnecesary

I'd really want a Sunset Overdrive bundle for $350, but it won't go that low here in Canada (Microsoft's being competitive enough by leaving the Xbox One at $400, when Sony's increased the price of the PS4 to $450). If I'm lucky, I might still get a Sunset Overdrive bundle soon regardless, but cutting what is effectively the cost of taxes off the top would probably quickly push me over the edge.

It always surprises me that gaming fans don't want to consume all games on all platforms all the time. Great deal, still think the community at large negative attack on the Kinect was unwarranted. I'd still recommend getting a kinect. I'm stuck in the Destiny rut because there is nothing out.

More proof that competition in the market is the best outcome for consumers. If Microsoft was killing it in sales, the thing would still be 500 bucks.

I don't think anyone is legit outraged. I think it's all just massive schadenfreude. The price cut is obviously great for the marketplace and there's zero reason to complain. But I think the initial reveal of the One with the strong TV and Kinect focus put a lot of people off and now they just love seeing Microsoft stumble out of spite. I have to admit I did kind of enjoy seeing Microsoft eat it and flop so hard after launch. They are desperate and that desperation can also be kind of funny, but it's also a win for consumers. Very curious to see if this will swing things back for them.

Dude, come on. There is a System Wars forum on Gamespot if you want to get into that sort of "discussion", please don't make arguments that are simply false without being prepared to back them up somehow. The real irony is that you then go on to call out others' lack of common sense in this same post.

This is one of the biggest misconceptions (or just false arguments, whatever you want to call it) from those that are against PC gaming for whatever reason, and it simply isn't true.

I already have a PS4, but if Sunset Overdrive is good I'll pick up that bundle at a discount and get Forza Horizon 2 as well. I wish it was black though to match my PS4. Dammit, I knew I shouldn't have cancelled my Destiny bundle preorder!

If Microsoft manages to sell 5 million consoles this holiday, which is a bit of a stretch, this price drop would cost them 10% of what they paid for Mojang. That's a wad of cash, but shit, why loose your foot in the door for an entire generation over that kind of money? 1% of what you nett in a year?
There are resonant benefits that MS might get from having a lot of X1s sold. For instance, devs being able to target TVs with universal apps might just push them over the edge towards finally developing an app that will run on Windows Phones. Actual apps on Windows Phones! I bet you that's what Satya thinks about while staring off into the distance at board meetings, hearing, in his head, happy children laughing and singing "Mobile First, Cloud First" over and over.

The last 2 generations I had all three consoles but this time I am going to skip the Xbox One regardless of how low it gets marked down. It's nothing to do with supposedly being less powerful than the PS4 or anti-Xbox sentiment. It's simply I prefer Sony's exclusive games over Microsoft's. Plus third-party games look nearly identical on both platforms that I can barely tell a difference in comparison videos. So what's the point when I'd rather play stuff like Uncharted and Little Big Planet over Halo and Gears of War and the third-party games are nearly identical save for whatever shitty exclusive bonus content one console was willing to pay more for than the other console?

If anything the similarities between the PS4 and Xbox 1 makes the Wii U more appealing as a second console because you are getting a totally different gaming experience than the other two consoles.

I don't think you guys really know what desperate means

The second page of this thread has just made me go "ughhhh." Who cares about all that nonsense, it's a bunch of pretty good deals; be happy buying or not buying an XBone.

This is a great move for MS, and probably the thing that will have me playing the Master Chief Collection this Christmas. I've been happy with my PS4, and will probably continue to use that as my main third party machine, but... damn, I need that Halo collection.

This actually has me considering getting one. I'd mostly be doing it so I could play a bunch of Halo, though. I might be an idiot.

Good move, made me want to buy that Sunset Overdrive bundle (that white Xbone looks great) but then I figured I would be better served with a better video card since I already have a ps4. I do wonder if Sony will react in any way.

@dagas: They really just want that top spot this holiday season so they can gain some traction in mind share.

I'm waiting on the $399 w/ Kinect bundle. I have a wife and a kid and the only thing she is interested in is the Kinect games. My son is still a baby but as he gets older the Kinect will be great for him. I really don't think its that people don't want Kinect its just that $500 is crazy. I don't understand how families with young kids wouldn't want Kinect. But having a family is expensive! lol. Gotta get those savings where you can. Im glad I bought my $350 video card pre-family :) . My AMD HD6970 is still going strong!

I think schadenfreude is right. Xbox 360 was the leader last generation, which led them to be able to take advantage of the consumer like paid wall netflix. When Sony was stumbling with the PS3, people had the same schadenfreude because they got knocked off their PS2 pedestal. Sony was where MS is now, when the PS3 launched it was super expensive and their messaging was tough shit we know we're number 1. When the 360 took the lead, PS3 had to play catch up and offer better perks.

12.5% price cut for the holidays. Or 10% if you're buying an Xbox one with Kinect. Still, this isn't desperate.

Microsoft have been doing amazing things the past 6 months and people still like to hurl shit at them for the Xbox One.

A lot of people seem to think this is desperate and maybe it is in some part, but I kinda disagree.

Sure Microsoft is trying to catch up to Sony but both consoles are ahead of their previous generations after the same amount of time on the market, that's impressive.

This is the first full holiday sale season with all 3 consoles already launched. Microsoft has to be the obvious purchase at the register and, with a lot of parody with major releases, price is the best way to stand out.

I would cave and buy it if they did a forza horizon 2 bundle for $350, even though I really am not playing games enough to justify having a PS4 & an XBONE.

Maybe in a year or two (closer to two). I have a gaming PC and enough PS3 games to play. Plus I really need to get another 360 since mine died and that left me with a bunch of unplayed games (and games I want to play again!).

Agreed. Desperate is not a word I'd use with Microsoft as a company who is doing really well. Didn't they recently announce Phone sales are up, Surface sales are up. Office 365 is really entrenching itself in the enterprise space. The Xbox is selling well just not as well as the PS4 right now anyway. Desperate is a really strong word. Kindle Fire phones ok that's desperate.

Figures a month after I pick one up.

I feel bad for anyone who was genuinely trying to make interesting Kinect games. It's a neat idea that I thought would be if not perfected would work close to as originally intended this console generation. Microsoft has seemingly decided Kinect is a bust with these price cuts and bundles that lack a Kinect. Last I heard they were going to offer it separately for $150 which hurts the install base significantly and reduces the budget for games being developed for the device.

But no price drop in the UK..........

aka, the "OH MY GOD, PLEASE BUY THE SYSTEM ALREADY!" edition.

@superfriend You have to look at it from a historical perspective. How many systems that have had positive sales and word of mouth drop prices as much as this system has and this quickly?

I would describe this as a bit desperate. I mean they just announced a loss of atleast $100 million from Xbox for FY15 Q1. If you get down to it they have gone from a $499 console to a $290 console in a year. Yes they took out Kinect but consider a new Wii U on amazon is just under $290. So a Wii U + $60 dollar game is the same price as the Xbone + $60 dollar game this holiday. Which is more expensive to make? It is legitimately interesting as a fan of vidya games to watch a company that was all but assumed to lead the market share 2.5 years ago to this today, pure schadenfreude.

That's a great deal. I just got a WiiU bundle with Mario 3D World for $250, but will probably still jump on this. I really want to play Sunset Overdrive and Forza Horizon 2. However, I'm still kind of irked by these preening schmoes on these PR videos. They would love nothing more than to be charging $500 bucks this holiday with the worthless kinect albatross around our necks and their $60 games teeming with microtransactions. But the people said no. This may not be desperate, but it most certainly is a concession to the market reaction to their product.