Console Price Decrease - Did Microsoft Miss An Opportunity?

Many people are viewing the Xbox One price decrease in the EU to mean that Microsoft and Xbox One aren't doing well, and that may even be true, I'm not "on the inside" so I have no idea. Microsoft seems to be doing okay to me. The decrease is also angering
many folks who paid "full price" for their next-gen consoles just three months ago.

Games are getting more expensive this year, $65 for mid year releases, $70 by the end of it, at least they are for Physical copies at my local retailer.

Internet companies are thinking of raising prices for the "extra heavy" bandwidth gamers are being told we're using.

Our passion and chosen hobby is getting more and more expensive by the minute it would seem.

There are clarion calls for Microsoft to adjust game prices for Digital copies of games in comparison to Physical copies, which are obviously more expensive to produce due to the materials needed to make them and transportation fees involved with getting them
to retail. Major Nelson has mentioned in his blog that this is an idea that Microsoft has been thinking about.

My thought was rather than discounting console prices and seeming weak to both investors and consumers, as well as angering many early adopters, might it instead have been a wiser business plan to make the prices of Digital copies less expensive? It would certainly
be more enticing to those buying games, would look good on Microsoft for providing the discount with the side benefit of moving customers towards Digital distribution which seemed like Microsoft's original plan for the Xbox One anyway? Maybe Microsoft loses
less revenue with a console price decrease as opposed to discounting Digital game prices? I honestly don't know.

Now, I'm most certainly not a Business Major by any stretch of the imagination but this is the first thing that jumped into my mind when I heard about the price decrease. I'm sure that there are very smart people making the business decisions that they are
for a reason, we're just not privy to them. But I do wonder if this was even considered? Just an thought, take it for what it's worth. I think we all could have benefited from a business decision like this.

:)

 

Microsoft will ‘reintroduce’ the Xbox One at GamesCon

A price decrease and Microsoft will add a headset ? ^^

Spec upgrades ? On a console less than 4 months before release ? ^^

Speculations and sci-fi are two different things

 

Xbox Deals

Lots of price drops for 360 games.

xbldb.com/.../price-decreases

 

issue is.... MS owns the XB brand.. they do not OWN the games they sell (not including their own MS brand)

They are doing fine... the mark down has nothing to do with anything other than selling more consoles... and guess what.. it worked

 

Games prices,not Microsoft,only devs/publishers choice.By the way,the games that got a price cut or sales on Xbox one marketplace,are games publish by Microsoft.

The Xbox one price drop is only in UK and still the price is over $/€ 500.

More a smart move than a dumb one.

 

Whether or not Microsoft OWNS (as you put it) the games, they have control over the level of profit they are willing to accept when selling said games Digitally over Xbox Live, and as such, could offer discounted prices for Digital purchases if they choose
to.

 

No only for their games.

If AC4 got a price cut or sales,it's Ubisoft choice,not Microsoft.

 

MSRP is a recommendation for a product's price suggested by a products producers. Retailers are free to choose whatever price they want to sell a product for based on the level of profit they hope to make on said product.

 

Microsoft is not a retailer like Gamestop,Amazon or Steam.They just got a small marketplace called XBL.

 

I'm with you 100%! They should RAISE the price of digital copies...all that extra bandwidth it putting a strain on our I.S.P.s. ;-)

Peace, J.R.

 

I can't believe you just said that Microsoft's XBL Xbox Game Store is NOT a retailer like Steam, and calling it "small." Hmm, The Xbox Games Store and the Steam
Store both provide for the digital distribution of games, among other things.

Boggles the mind.

If the Xbox Games Store doesn't digitally distribute games just like the Steam Store does, what exactly does it do?

 

The cost difference between digital and physical is negligible. Discs (CD, DVD, BR) are dirt cheap and the equipment to "press" them is already in place. By negligible I mean maybe $1/disc and I am sure that is generous.

 

They are not negligible. There is all of the over head for facilities housing the equipment used to make and "press" the discs. The electricity used by all of the equipment, The men and women that operate and maintain the equipment. The like facilities to
make game cases and manuals. The transportation fees for drivers and gasoline to get the games to retail.

Compared to, a digital copy available to download over and over and over.

Sure, there is overhead for servers, electricity and people to make sure it's all working properly.

But to call the differences negligible displays a gross misunderstanding of all of the costs involved when comparing the two.

 

Microsoft is not a retailer.And yes Steam is way bigger than XBL(as a retailer)...

On Xbox one/XBL we just start to be able to buy a game at launch,Steam do that for years.....Maybe in few years,we might get a price drop for new releases.

 

There no PC used market. Like there is X1 and PS4 has. So they get deals.