Industry analyst Michael Pachter isn't convinced that Microsoft has any intention of returning the Xbox One back to its original price of $399.
The company first implemented the $50 discount in November as sort of a holiday promotion, and immediately saw promising results. Following a successful holiday season which saw the Xbox One overtake the PS4 in sales in the U.S. for November and December 2014, the price returned to the standard $399. That was only temporary, though, as Microsoft celebrated the news by reintroducing the $349 Xbox One in January, with no timeframe for how long the promotion would last.
“On January 16 they said ‘Effective tomorrow we have special promotional pricing of $349.’ It didn’t say temporary, and it didn’t put a date of when it ends, which is really curious,” Pachter said, speaking to GameInformer.
“It’s not officially a price cut – it’s promotional pricing. This allows the retailer to advertise regularly $399 and now it’s $349, but I have a feeling it will never go back up.”
Pachter went on to say that unbundling the Kinect — which allowed Microsoft more competitive pricing with Sony's PS4 — "was the right idea," but pointed out that the Xbox One didn't actually start outselling the PlayStation 4 "until they cut the price to $349 and started giving away free games."
Although Microsoft told Polygon that the promotion was temporary, I have a hard time believing Microsoft will return the price to $399. Technology only gets cheaper as time passes, and with the Xbox One turning two this November, I fully expect bigger discounts and more attractive incentives.
