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How can Microsoft still justify $499?

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The price in the US is nothing compared to the £430 that they're charging in the UK. Completely ridiculous.

I paid £280 for my 360 at launch and it was competitive with high end PC hardware. The Xbox One will be outclassed by integrated graphics within a 2-3 years.

Well, the Xbone's price is 23% more than the PS4 in the UK, and 25% more in the US, so it's the same difference, slightly better even.
 
You're right OP, MS should just position the xbone as a budget game console. They could be the dollar store of gaming! And why not? Dollar stores make tons of money.
 
The underdog always won before, except maybe SNES. Still, MS has been disingenuous about the whole thing, and its biting their PR badly. Fuck em.
 
They can't justify the price at the moment, but in the coming months, I'm expecting them to go into detail about thier multi media plans and reveal new software. What plans they have for Kinect will also be announced as well. Will all this justify the price? Well that comes down to the customer.
 
because masses won't give much a shit about 720 vs 1080 and that's where the majority of their money will come from
Masses don't give shit but the early adopters/enthusiasts do. And they will inform what console the masses buy.

Early adopter sales will dictate where people go
 
How? How did nintendo justify their pricing. How does apple?

It's all about the perceived value of any given product.
 
The same way they justify online gaming being behind a paywall, even though it is still peer to peer (migrating hosts CoD...)

Through customer ignorance.
 
I would LOVE to go back in time.... during the PS3 vs 360 launch and see what his opinion was on the 600 dollar price tag and the MUCH more difficult to program for cell situation. I would guess he would not have the same views.

I get more headaches coming to gaf lately.. I can not wait for next gen to just start and so we can somewhat move on. I really do not know how those of us who will buy and ENJOY both systems can deal with this type of one sided posts in the future.
 
Come on now. Microsoft has a little stiffer competition going than apple. It's not the same answer

OT, but actually Apple's market share both for smartphones and tablets have been on a steady decrease for a while.

Under 30 % for smartphones, and just slightly over 40 % for tablets now.

/end off-topicness
 
They should drop the Kinect and make it 299$

It's the same relative difference, whereas the absolute difference is not the same. Taking the Eurozone price:
PS4: 399€ ~ $548 -> $148 difference
XBO: 499€ ~ $685 -> $185 difference

It's not as if the 1:1 pricing was a necessity, as shown by Apple doing a slightly different (and better) European pricing (at least for the latest iPads). Apple can offer a fairer pricing for Europeans, but apparently Sony/Microsoft can't/won't/don't want to?

1:1 pricing doesn't exist because it is Illegal in Europe to say product price without VAT included. It's 399€ with tax included.
 
The price is totally fair for the package, it's just that the package includes a Kinect it shouldn't.

The XBO and PS4 being not equal in technology is irrelevant to their price. How much they cost to make is what matters. Sony picked a better architecture, but as far as I understand it, the price of production isn't so related to their ultimate performance.
 
MS is "justified" at $500 the same way the Wii U is "justified" at $300 and PS4 at $400. This shit costs what it costs to manufacture.

If you feel there is value in that price you will buy it. If not you won't.

For example for Wii U I don't think anyone has ever said "how can Nintendo be charging $300 for what you get?" Instead it's usually "still too much for a few Nintendo games" or "Why don't they just sell a version without the Gamepad?" (Neither of which I agree with. Was just pointing out)

Same thing with XBONE. I have no doubt that the hardware sports a BOM that supports the $500 price tag. So that's what it costs. And yeah, Kinect is likely that $100 premium over PS4. Still that's the direction MS wants to go, and if they maintain that direction I wouldn't expect pricing parity until later in the gen.
 
Because it comes with Kinect. Easy Answer. Minus Kinect both systems are worth about $399

PS4 has better hardware, X1 has better Online Infastructure. PS4 has more potential for 1st Party Studios, Xbox One has the better lineup for Launch exclusives.

You just have to decide what important to you, and if you think Kinect is worth $100.
 
Forcing a bundled Kinect when now the system doesn't even require it is simply baffling. I really think they made a decision late to not require Kinect to run the console and now they already have their SKU in development. Down the road I bet we'll see a Kinect-less XBO SKU
 
I think both consoles are priced pretty fairly. I understand that Microsoft has done alot to create this new "multitasking" experience on the Xbox One - they have custom hardware and software created solely for this purpose and it really could be amazing - Skype video chat with 4 friends snapped to the side of Titanfall...now that sounds fun. The PS4 will not be doing side-by-side multitasking. That's a unique and major feature and I think that's where alot of the cost is going. I'm buying both consoles but I truly believe the User Experience (UX) will be superior on the Xbox. I think 5-10 years of superior user experience is worth $100. Maybe that's just me.
 
I mean why wouldn't they. They pretty much justified it when they got people to think that their launch lineup is the best without any promises for the future besides two games. They already have convinced of the short term so I don't see why they can't.

People will buy it. I know that there's tons of games on the PS side that is warrant a purchase now.. I don't know that for MS outside of Titanfall and whatever Black Tusk is making so it makes my decision easier. I can wait for an X1, some can't and they are geniuses for it.
 
They can't justify the price at the moment, but in the coming months, I'm expecting them to go into detail about thier multi media plans and reveal new software. What plans they have for Kinect will also be announced as well. Will all this justify the price? Well that comes down to the customer.

isn't this traditionally known as 'pig in a poke'?:

The English colloquialisms such as turn out to be a pig in a poke or buy a pig in a poke mean that something is sold or bought without the buyer knowing its true nature or value, especially when buying without inspecting the item beforehand. The phrase can also be applied to accepting an idea or plan without a full understanding of its basis.
 
How can they still justify it? I hate to break it to you, but they never did. Only blind fanboys justified the price. This is why the PS4 hype train has been steamrolling MS leading up to launch.
 
I just checked on amazon how much all this stuff would cost If I was getting Xbone at launch.

Xbone : $499
Extra controller : $60
1 year Xbox Live : $60
2 games: $120
play and charge kit : $25
Tax 6%
Total: $809.84

I could build a medium spec PC which could run every game at 1080p and still have cash left over for that price.

You are missing the point of consoles and missing the right consumer market.
 
The customers will ultimately justify it (or not). Personally, I like the bundled Kinect. Granted I'm banking on new, unique uses for it in the future--and that could be a steep bet--but the guarantee that it is bundled in each box gives my hope that developers can think of some cool stuff.

I don't want two similar consoles. Sony is doing some great, great stuff with the PS4 and should be lauded, but between the X1 launch lineup, which just seems to align perfectly with my personal tastes, and the the all-in-one entertainment vision (providing they make good on a compelling content pipeline), I'm more enamored with Microsoft's vision for the next-gen, and, as such, find the price justifiable.
 
Figure all the angles have been covered here. Microsoft is justifying the price with Kinect and HDMI in to make the system work as a it of a digital hub for cable TV.

I think that will fall flat in the market and people won't pay the extra for that functionality - particularly at launch when it's the more dedicated gamers who will spend $400 and up on a new machine. But MS has been pretty clear about how they're positioning the Xbone. They think the price is justified by Kinect and the cable box tie-in feature.

The games performance is a secondary concern. It's powerful compared to the 360 but it's not powerful compared to what they could have made if they focused on making a games machine, as Sony did.
 
because masses won't give much a shit about 720 vs 1080 and that's where the majority of their money will come from

But they'll be sophisticated enough to want a camera to control their tv for an extra Benjamin? I don't buy it.

That may be true for my parents, but many of the parents of middle to high school kids grew up with enough tech to understand the difference between 720&1080. And if the two premier games for X1 aren't offering a better experience on it over the 360 version, guess which version is going to be under the tree this year?
 
As someone who *is* buying the XB1 at launch and has zero interest in Sony's machine... I think the system probably is overpriced. I expect that price to fall sharply when manufacturing starts really getting going and launch demand dries up, and I expect a Kinectless bundle will be used to reach a lower theoretical price point.

But yeah, £420 isn't mass market viable.
 
because masses won't give much a shit about 720 vs 1080 and that's where the majority of their money will come from

They absolutely will give a shit when it comes to the 100 dollar price difference. "Brand" did not help Sony when they got cocky and thought 100-200 dollars difference would still make PS3 more attractive than 360, it absolutely did not.

Which is why this news has gained so much traction, its not that one console is slightly weaker, its also that the weaker console is more expensive.
 
Why would cloud win for PS4??

Second screen is obvious though, you can use vita for off play TV can't you? That's better than some boring app on smartglass. MS's second screen options always look like after thoughts.

Agree with the rest.
 
How can they still justify it? I hate to break it to you, but they never did. Only blind fanboys justified the price. This is why the PS4 hype train has been steamrolling MS leading up to launch.

Posts like this are terrible.

Why is someone blind if they like what the console offers? The XBO as I've said before is launching with a diverse launch line up. For a lot of people that's all that matters.
 
There's plenty of people who will pay.

It is probably getting harder and harder to forecast how many though. I think it's too much but whether I'm in the minority or not is hard to tell until it goes on sale.

However, I don't think people bashing OP about a "terrible question" are helping. No need to be offended because someone asks you something you don't like to think about.
 
Price is justified because people are willing to pay for it.

It has absolutely nothing to do with anything objective.
 
Ha, ha. The Xbox One had two good weeks around here and then the bottom fell out.

The RUMOUR threads are noteworthy, but the random vanity posts that they spawn are the most entertaining.
 
The problem is that their components cost a lot, especially all the R&D that went into the new Kinekt. Another problem is due to a heavy investment they don't want to (or they simply can't) sell the console at a loss (which is what Sony is doing, which inflates the price difference.

Obviously, someone at Microsoft was so jealous of the Wii that decided that casual appeal reigns supreme, only they didn't realise that what goes for Nintendo, doesn't really work for "casual" Xbox with "casual" titles like Halo, Gears of War and Ryse.

I live in Switzerland, and here I wouldn't even get all the HDMI IN-related benefits for the console at the same price. I think PS4 will outsell heavily the One here.
 
You're paying for the package but it's not going to tick every box, no product ever does.

If you think it's too expensive wait for a price drop. That's what I did for the PS3.
 
The problem is that their components cost a lot, especially all the R&D that went into the new Kinekt. Another problem is due to a heavy investment they don't want to (or they simply can't) sell the console at a loss (which is what Sony is doing, which inflates the price difference.

R&D isn't a "component", it's a sunk cost that MS already paid whether they sell a billion XB1s or zero.

I'm not sure if we are aware of any unique components that drive up the price; all signs point to MS simply not wanting to subsidize the box has much as most manufacturers have done in the past.
 
R&D isn't a "component", it's a sunk cost that MS already paid whether they sell a billion XB1s or zero.

I'm not sure if we are aware of any unique components that drive up the price; all signs point to MS simply not wanting to subsidize the box has much as most manufacturers have done in the past.

Yeah, I worded it poorly, but the fact is that Microsoft is most surely not feeding us Kinekt because it's a useful tool that totally changes the console experience. They've spent a lot of money on it (as you rightfully stated "sunk cost") and they want at least to regain some that money by forcing it into the bundle. I'm merely speculating that Kinekt tech was a costly investment.

Putting it the other way if we consider all the R&D that went into the XboXOne as a sunk cost, and judging by the dire situation their sales are in, it makes sense to sell the console at the profit to try and get back as much money as they can now, because chances are, that if they sell it at a loss, they won't regain it back through game sales if some of the rumors circulating on this forum are true.
 
They should drop the Kinect and make it 299$

that's a big price drop - what makes you think they can undercut sony by $100 just by dropping kinect? They'd still have a lot of similar hardware (bluray, 500GB HDD, expensive APU). The ram might be a bit cheaper, but the APU might be a bit more expensive.

At a guess I'd say they could price match Sony if they dropped Kinect. any further movement on pricing would cut into profits/increase losses per unit.
 
I would like to preface this by saying I have no particular allegiance to any company.

It irks me when people, especially Sony fanboys as of late, close their eyes to what's really going on around them. It's my duty to drop a duecer of knowledge-- a dose of reality, if you will--on you every once in a while. Or just Read the tea leaves, fellas.

The tiny minority picked the Wii, and you laughed. Another minority said the 360 might break 50 mil, and you ridiculed. Still yet, a whole lot of you argued that the psp/vita marked the doom of Nintendo and Sony would do raise the handheld market out of the ghetto. Sure. I believe you. Got any stock tips? And that's just a small taste.

Those who want to see the XB1 fail are like flies on the grill of Microsoft's fast-moving 'stang that's ever changing gears to get to where they want to go. All those moneyhats that you can't stand (DR3, Titanfall, COD DLC, etc.) is simply them doing whatever they need to do to position themselves as #1. All those 180's, all that pr head-spinning double-talk, all those pretty events and mountain dew promo's.... it all serves a purpose.

There will be no check too fat, no 180 too difficult that MS won't be willing to do to make sure XB1 is, at worst, relevant. Price-drops, 3-6 month exclusives, dlc exlcusives, bundles, kinect-less versions, payment plan versions... everything is on the table. "Do only as much as you must" is their motto. It's not what we want to hear, sure. We want a Titan-powered console on 30 watts for $199 with free online play. But we're only going to get what the market will bear. Blame the casuals. Blame Microsoft. Blame yourselves, even.

Just know, your voice does not matter in this "war". Sony, too, only does what it must. The inevitable is inevitable whether you're willing to accept it or not. Having a short-sighted view on things can only keep you happy for so long...
 
I think Microsoft is making a rather silly business move by pricing the Xbox One at $500 USD. Sell it at $400 USD and at a loss to compete even keel against the others. The loss in profits will surely be made up for in accessories and Xbox Live.

I'm not going to apply a human emotion to the department or the corporation that green-lit this decision, as it makes perfect business sense (sell at a profit). Given the market conditions, however, as well as the competition, it's a rather short-sighted move to make of them.
 
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