Microsoft’s gambit to reduce the price of the Xbox One by $50 for the 2014 holiday shopping season appears to have paid off, at least in North America. The company announced Thursday that the console beat Sony’s PlayStation 4 for November and December sales. Microsoft ended the discount just two weeks ago, but has now brought it back and may have just made it permanent.
The Xbox One had plenty of good news to share about sales over the holiday. On top of being the best selling console for November and December, weekly sales are outperforming the Xbox 360 by 50 percent at the same point in the console’s life cycles. Additionally, more games were sold for the Xbox One in both months than the PlayStation 4.
Knowing that, it should come as no surprise that Microsoft is bringing the price of the Xbox One back to $350. The question is for how long and will it set off a console price war.
A new year, another great reason to buy. The Xbox One is $349 starting at midnight. http://t.co/K34wULtzA7 pic.twitter.com/RBwYtfVrIP
— Xbox (@Xbox) January 15, 2015
“Building off a record-setting holiday, we are excited to announce a new promotion in which fans in the U.S. can buy an Xbox One at a special price of $349, starting tomorrow, January 16, from their preferred retailer,” said Mike Nichols, Corporate Vice President of Marketing for Xbox.
“We are thankful for all the excitement for Xbox One this holiday and proud to offer more fans the amazing games lineup, Xbox Live gaming community, and continual innovation that Xbox One fans have come to enjoy.”
Note, though, that Nichols calls this a promotion and not permanent price drop. However, he doesn’t mention when the promotion will end.
Thanks to you #XboxOne was #1 console in Dec #NPD & holiday overall. We are going back to $349 price in the US as well! #GetOnBoard
— Aaron Greenberg (@aarongreenberg) January 15, 2015
Nichols told Polygon that this is not a permanent price drop, but Microsoft has not decided on will the sale will end.
“Looking at just how much engagement there was over the holidays with usage of the system and the advocacy from our fans, led us to do a new promotion,” he said.
“It’s a temporary reduction and we’re not announcing an end date at this point… We want to see how people react to it.”
Now eyes are on Sony to see how they will react with the PlayStation 4. While the console did get beat in North America, it is outselling the Xbox One worldwide and has built up a significant lead with more than 18.5 million consoles sold . Sony just announced on the PlayStation Blog two days ago that The Last of Us: Remastered is now bundled in for free with the $400 PS4.
What do you think of Microsoft’s move to sell the Xbox One for $350 again? Sound off in the comments below.
[Images via Xbox ]