Reminds me of end of life consoles to keep sales going as they move on to next generation but these consoles are still $499.
Amazingly is hitting the "I'll get this for the kids" market even at $499
I'm not even sure how Series S didn't dominate the "I'll just get this" market .
Respectfully, that just doesn't add up.
These are modular, so it doesn't quite apply to when say the GameBoy Pocket and GameBoy Color were adding additional color schemes to boost sales.
This is about sustainable revenue throughout the life of the system. Selling the unit in white was to precondition consumers to replace them. They know black is the most popular color.
Selling these for 55 dollars is a subtle price hike that they largely won't get called out for it, if anything the win points for giving options.
The reason why the Series S didn't dominate the "I'll just get this" market was that no kids are asking for it, no one really wants one. 200+ dollars is still a lot to spend for a console you can already tell is clearly reduced in quality and is part of an ecosystem that no one wants.
Normally, when you "just get it" you also get a game... what kid game is driving Xbox sales? Starfield? No dice. Microsoft could have and should have used Rare to create more family-friendly games.
I'm sure they're looking at Toys for Bob and Crash and Spyro, but that dog won't hunt. Even with the millions they'll pour into marketing.