The PlayStation 4 might see a price drop come holiday shopping season.
The battle between consoles might soon see a shift, as Microsoft expects a price drop in Sony’s console in the U.S. market after the company announced a reduction on their hardware in Japan. It will become effective on October 1st, and they’re looking on expanding in different countries across Asia.
However, according to Xbox head Phil Spencer, they are entirely expecting the PlayStation 4 to lower its price come holiday season, just in time for shopping sometimes between October and November. It doesn’t seem like a cause for concern though, in Spencer’s opinion.
Xbox One has an array of exclusive games prepared for the fall that would combat their opponent’s potential price drop, such as Rise of the Tomb Raider, Halo 5: Guardians on the Rise, and Gears of War: Ultimate Edition. That remains to be seen if it will be enough though.
The PlayStation 4 has seen incredible initial success due to the difference in price tag when placed up against the Xbox One. Sony’s console started out at $400, a fixed price that has not been changed until even today, and with no news of a possible drop until just recently.
Microsoft’s hardware, on the other hand, started out at $500, with the Kinect sensor made mandatory that not everyone wanted and included in the price. However, they made adjustments in order to advance themselves through the market, by cutting it down to $400 to match the PlayStation 4, and the lowered it even further to $350.
Until recently though, Sony did not seem to budge by following in the footsteps of their biggest rival, and hasn’t had much incentive to do so. In 2014, the PlayStation 4 had outsold both the Xbox One and the Wii U, remaining the best sold console of the year.
The numbers have not yet been crunched for this year, but there’s still three months to go, and with a drop in price, it might seem that Sony’s plan will work to stay in the lead.
The holiday shopping season is upon us, and Microsoft has been known to trim down the prices by $50 on their console. If Sony follows through the same decision in the U.S. as it had in Japan, gamers should expect PlayStation 4 to be found on the market with around $42 less. A price reduction has already been confirmed in the United Kingdom, to arrive in time for the Uncharted: The Nathan Drake Collection on October 9th.
PlayStation 4 has been around for almost two years, and has already sold 25 million units worldwide. The console is still young, and apparently winning over its same-generation competition, Xbox One.
Image source: digitaltrends.com