With PS4 Sales Looming, Microsoft Slashes Xbox One Price By $80 In China
As a consumer, you have to love Microsoft's strategy in the new
generation console wars -- price cuts! Here in the U.S., game bundles and promotional discounts bringing the Xbox One to
as low as $329 at times have given the system the sales boost it needed to
finally scurry in front of the PlayStation 4. And over in China, it's
being reported that Microsoft just slashed $80 off the console’s price.
Citing a Chinese-language news report, Kotaku says the Xbox One is going through a "pretty rough time in China," prompting Microsoft and its retail vendors to drop prices. When the console launched in China, the Day One Edition sold for 4,299 RMB (~US$694) with Kinect and 3,699 RMB (~US$597) without the motion controller. Day One Edition SKUs still carry a premium, though with the recent price cut, Microsoft's new prices for the Xbox One with and without Kinect in China are now 3,799 RMB (~US$613) and 3,199 RMB (~US$516), respectively.
The timing of Microsoft's price cuts come just as Sony announced it will be offering its PS4 console in China on January 11, 2015. With a population of over 1.3 billion people, China is shaping up to be a major battleground in the console wars, though Sony will have some catching up to do.
Microsoft has been selling the Xbox One in China for about the past few months, and we're still a month away from the PS4 launch. However, after coming out strong and selling 100,000 units, Xbox One sales slowed a bit due to the lack of gaming content and delayed video streaming services. In contrast, Sony's PS4 announcement was heavy on promoting games.
Citing a Chinese-language news report, Kotaku says the Xbox One is going through a "pretty rough time in China," prompting Microsoft and its retail vendors to drop prices. When the console launched in China, the Day One Edition sold for 4,299 RMB (~US$694) with Kinect and 3,699 RMB (~US$597) without the motion controller. Day One Edition SKUs still carry a premium, though with the recent price cut, Microsoft's new prices for the Xbox One with and without Kinect in China are now 3,799 RMB (~US$613) and 3,199 RMB (~US$516), respectively.
The timing of Microsoft's price cuts come just as Sony announced it will be offering its PS4 console in China on January 11, 2015. With a population of over 1.3 billion people, China is shaping up to be a major battleground in the console wars, though Sony will have some catching up to do.
Microsoft has been selling the Xbox One in China for about the past few months, and we're still a month away from the PS4 launch. However, after coming out strong and selling 100,000 units, Xbox One sales slowed a bit due to the lack of gaming content and delayed video streaming services. In contrast, Sony's PS4 announcement was heavy on promoting games.
