Microsoft will be selling the Xbox one $50-Off starting Nov.2. in an effort to win the holiday wars.
From Nov. 2 until the end of the year, Microsoft will be temporarily cutting the down the price of its almost-one-year-old gaming console, the Xbox One.
The Xbox One model with the Kinect motion camera will cost $449, down from $499, while the Xbox One model without the Kinect will now cost $349, down from $399.
The price reduction will also affect Xbox one models with games included in the box.
Holiday season is the time of the year when most of the video game industry's highest profile games are released including action adventure games like "Assassin's Creed Rogue" and shooting game "Battlefield" and "Call of Duty," so the offer comes at a perfect time.
Microsoft lost the battle against Sony's PlayStation 4 last year. The PS4 has overshadowed and outsold the Xbox one in the U.S. for nine consecutive months this year since its release a week before the arrival of the Xbox One last November.
However, the Xbox one will have a new weapon this holiday season: it's price which is almost 13 percent lower than the PS4.
Sony and Microsoft have two very different marketing strategies. While the former relies on exclusive access to storylines and features for well-known games to seal the deal with avid gamers, the latter gave "combo" deals-in March, the company released "Titanfall" for free when customers bought a new Xbox One; in May, when gamers packed up $60 in their Xbox Live Gold Social Network account, they got two free downloadable titles every month.
While the move may be good for consumers, investors may see it as a red flag-a sign that the company is struggling and unable to pick-up sales. According Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter via CNET, a price reduction is a "last resort" to boost sales.
