Microsoft has apparently grown tired of seeing Sony winning the latest rounds of the console wars. Per The Verge, Microsoft announced on Tuesday that it will start unbundling the Xbox One from Kinect and will let people buy just the console for $399, thus matching Sony’s price for the PlayStation 4. Microsoft has been under intense pressure over the past few months because Sony’s PlayStation 4 has been handily outselling the Xbox One, mainly due to the added $100 price that comes with paying for the Kinect sensor. By cutting Kinect out of the bundle, Microsoft is clearly hoping to catch up with Sony and make its new console more attractive to buyers. The new $399 unbundled Xbox One will go on sale starting on June 9th.
In addition to cutting the price for the Xbox One, Microsoft also said that it will drop the requirement that owners have an Xbox Live Gold subscription before they’re allowed to watch Netflix and Hulu on their consoles. This is yet another smart move aimed at getting more buyers who are interested in using the Xbox One as their set-top box to choose it over the PS4.
Now that Microsoft has finally cut the Xbox One’s price, it will be very interesting to see whether it attracts more buyers in the coming months, especially since many observers believe it has a stronger lineup of exclusive games than the PS4.
