Microsoft has announced that it is cutting the price of its Xbox One console. From 28 February, the machine will be available in the UK for £399.99, which is £30 less than the current retail estimate – though stores will be free to discount further. Right now, the reduction is exclusive to the UK.
Perhaps more importantly, from 14 March for a limited time, the console will be bundled with a download code for the hugely anticipated sci-fi shooter, Titanfall. The package will come with one month’s free access to Xbox Live Gold, the subscription-based online gaming service that is needed for all multiplayer titles.
In effect, the Titanfall offer, which will be available worldwide, gives new console owners one of the year’s most anticipated games for free. Furthermore, Titanfall will not be available on PlayStation 4, only Xbox One, Xbox 360 and PC.
Publisher Electronic Arts signed an exclusivity deal with Microsoft last year in a move it referred to as “a tactical opportunity”. The company previously provided its hit Fifa 14 title free with the launch of Xbox One.
“The reaction from gamers and members of the media who’ve been lucky enough to see the game has been almost universally positive,” said Harvey Eagle, marketing director at Xbox UK.
“It’s one of those special games that don’t come around very often that we call system sellers – people will buy a console in order to experience them. It’s an amazing opportunity for us.”
Titanfall demo - two million downloads
Developed by Respawn Entertainment, a studio founded many of the team behind the Call of Duty titles, Titanfall is a science fiction first-person shooter, heavily focused on multiplayer online engagement. Boasting some intriguing touches, such as giant bipedal tanks that can be called in and operated by players, the game has received enormously positive coverage in the specialist press. A recent demo version of the title was downloaded and played by over two million gamers.
With the hardware now out, the focus of the competition between Sony and Microsoft will now be on games – and securing exclusive titles is likely to be a key part that. Bundling key releases with hardware is a familiar ‘loss leader’ strategy for console manufacturers. Nintendo famously bundled legendary puzzle game Tetris with its GameBoy handheld, while Sega made Sonic the Hedgehog available free with new machines when it reduced the price of the Mega Drive in the US, ensuring the platform’s success.
Microsoft certainly needs to keep up the pressure on Sony’s machine. In February, sales of 5.3m were announced for PS4, and although figures were not released for Xbox One at the same time, financial results released in January suggested it had shipped (rather than sold) 3.9m units by January.
The new price point brings the console closer to the PlayStation 4, which retails at £349, mostly because Sony chose not to bundle its camera peripheral and instead sells it separately. Microsoft’s Kinect motion tracking camera comes with every Xbox One sold.Microsoft is yet to announce any similar price cuts elsewhere in the world, but has released the following statement, “as with many products, pricing and offers vary from country to country. We’re committed to providing the best value to all our customers and have nothing further to announce at this time.”
Microsoft is now looking toward the major E3 conference in June to strengthen its position, with what Eagle says is a range of announcements.
“We’re at the start of our journey with Xbox One,” he said. “We’re in 13 markets around the world at the moment, Sony is in 49 markets. This has been the most successful Xbox launch ever, and we’ve already seen that both consoles are commercially successful, which is great for the industry.
“What I will say is, we’re only a few months in and this is a generation that’s going to go on for many, many years. We’re in it for the long haul.”
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