Xbox One Price Drop to 399$ (with no kinect)

[magus]

Delivering More Choices for Fans

Since the beginning, we have focused on delivering great games and entertainment experiences for you. Your feedback matters to us and it shapes the products and services we build. Your feedback showed up in the Xbox One console we launched back in November and in the monthly updates we’ve delivered since.

Today, we’re excited to share more ways your feedback is impacting the products we build.

First, beginning on June 9th, in all markets where Xbox One is sold, we will offer Xbox One starting at $399. This is a new console option that does not include Kinect. For $399, our new Xbox One offering will continue to deliver access to the best blockbuster games like Titanfall, Call of Duty: Ghosts, Forza Motorsport 5, Dead Rising 3, and the upcoming Watch Dogs, Destiny and Sunset Overdrive. You will also be able to access popular entertainment apps, such as Twitch, YouTube, and Netflix, as well as watch live TV and use OneGuide. Finally, you will continue to be able to use many of the unique features of Xbox One including the ability to get game invites while you watch TV, switch between games and entertainment apps, enjoy Twitch broadcasts, and upload your favorite gaming moments.

Next, we’re bringing more value to Xbox Live Gold members and offering all Xbox 360 and Xbox One owners access to entertainment apps whether or not you have an Xbox Live Gold membership. In early June, here is what you can expect from the new generation of Xbox Live:

• Free games with Games with Gold. Since Games with Gold launched on Xbox 360 a year ago, over 12 million people have enjoyed great free games, resulting in nearly 200 million hours of free fun playing Games with Gold titles. We’ve been learning from your feedback and have focused on making improvements each month to the selection of titles. To celebrate the one-year anniversary of Games with Gold for Xbox 360 and as a thank you for helping shape this program, members will receive an additional free Xbox 360 game in June. The Games with Gold titles for Xbox 360 in June are Dark Souls, Charlie Murder and a bonus game of Super Street Fighter IV: Arcade Edition. We’re pleased to bring Games with Gold to Xbox Live Gold members on Xbox One in June. Members will have subscription-based access to free games ranging from top hits to breaking indie stars. The program will launch on Xbox One with Max: The Curse of Brotherhood and Halo: Spartan Assault. A single Gold membership will get you access to the free games for both Xbox One and Xbox 360.

• Exclusive Discounts. Deals with Gold will also launch for Xbox One in June, delivering discounts for great games each month, with significant savings for Xbox Live Gold members. The first titles offered in June will include Forza Motorsport 5, Ryse: Son of Rome, and a few other surprises. In the coming months, we will offer significant savings of up to 50 – 75 percent off certain titles. This program will continue to be available for Xbox Live Gold members on Xbox 360. And new on Xbox One, we will launch a virtual VIP room exclusive to Xbox Live Gold members where we will feature free games, monthly deals, and other great benefits.

• Popular entertainment apps will be available for all Xbox 360 and Xbox One owners. Xbox 360 has been a leader in delivering entertainment experiences for years, with over 170 global entertainment apps and experiences available today. We’re constantly adding new partners and experiences to the growing catalog on Xbox One. Coming in June, anyone with an Xbox will be able to access popular entertainment experiences – whether or not you have an Xbox Live Gold membership. This includes great gaming apps like Machinima, Twitch and Upload, popular video services like Netflix, Univision Deportes, GoPro, Red Bull TV and HBO GO, sports experiences like the NFL app for Xbox One, MLB.TV, NBA Game Time, NHL Game Center and more. Microsoft experiences including Internet Explorer, Skype, OneDrive and OneGuide will also be available to all Xbox customers. You can find a full list of apps and features that will be available below.

We’ve heard that you want more choices from Xbox One. You want a wide variety of options in your games and entertainment experiences and you also want options in your hardware selection.

To be clear, as we introduce this new Xbox One console option, Kinect remains an important part of our vision. Many of you are using Kinect for Xbox One every day. In fact, more than 80 percent of you are actively using Kinect, with an average of 120 voice commands per month on each console. Some of the most popular voice commands include “Xbox On,” “Xbox Broadcast” and “Xbox Record That.” We will continue to offer a premium Xbox One with Kinect bundle to deliver voice and gesture controls, biometric sign-in, instant personalization, instant scanning of QR codes, and enhanced features only available with Kinect in games such as Kinect Sports Rivals, Just Dance 2014, Project Spark and more.

If you buy Xbox One for $399 and later decide you want to have all the experiences Kinect enables, we will also offer a standalone sensor for Xbox One later this fall. We’ll share more details about the standalone Kinect for Xbox One in the coming months.

Phil - @XboxP3

Updates to Xbox Live for Xbox One and Xbox 360 - news.xbox.com

meanwhile at nintendo....

As for Wii U, we estimated 9.00 million units of hardware in sales in the last fiscal year, but many of you must be aware of the actual results, and the Wii U market has experienced a sharp downturn. In order to recreate momentum and sell 5.00 million or 10.00 million units of hardware annually, there are indeed challenges that we must overcome. And in the face of these challenges, announcing more optimistic figures before we actually release the Mario Kart and Super Smash Bros. titles to consumers, would not be compatible with our original stance to provide rather conservative figures, so once again we set our estimates by considering how much we could realistically hope to achieve with our software lineup. The fate of a video game system is often influenced greatly by the introduction of a single title. As many of you probably remember, before the release of the Pokémon game, Game Boy had been showing slow growth, and many people wondered whether it was the end of Game Boy. But the Pokémon game singlehandedly changed the landscape of the system, which then started to show the strongest sales in the lifecycle of the system. As I explained back in January, it is true that we cannot draw up a good business plan for Wii U by assuming that Wii U will sell more than Wii did. Therefore, we will need to think very carefully about the balance of revenue and expenses and try to operate by controlling overall costs. On the other hand, we do not believe that this year’s estimate of 3.60 million units of Wii U hardware will be the peak of its lifecycle, and we would like to work hard to make sure that we give sufficient momentum to the system so that we can expect good results in and after the next fiscal year, too. However, as for this fiscal year, as I explained before, the figures you see have been determined by rather conservative estimates.

i hope that the title that will return nintendo to it's glory will be called nintendogaga

[bork]

What's up with that dude's eyes?   

[Cerveza mas fina]

I was saving 499 euro by not buying one

Now Im only saving 399 euro

Thanks for nothing Microsoft

[Himu]

CANT WAIT FOR NPD

[thisismyusername]

CANT WAIT FOR NPD

X-box still flat-lining, but not as much as before.

Changing "games with gold" from "you keep if your sub ends" to "you don't keep your rentals" is bullshit. Worst move from this announcement.

[demi]

That's only for Xbox ONE - 360 remains the same. You buy, you keep.

[Joe Molotov]

Xbox, go home.

[Himu]

Xbox, get a refund.

[AdmiralViscen]

CANT WAIT FOR NPD

X-box still flat-lining, but not as much as before.

Changing "games with gold" from "you keep if your sub ends" to "you don't keep your rentals" is bullshit. Worst move from this announcement.

Permanent ownership contributed to the shit selection because developers didn't want to abandon any hope of a future purchase. This is probably better.

[pilonv1]

People have already worked out there's no games for either of these machines. Party is over

[Great Rumbler]

Why would anyone buy a console anyway? Waste of money. Go outside and play in the grass or something.

[The Sceneman]

I want an Xbone

[thisismyusername]

CANT WAIT FOR NPD

X-box still flat-lining, but not as much as before.

Changing "games with gold" from "you keep if your sub ends" to "you don't keep your rentals" is bullshit. Worst move from this announcement.

Permanent ownership contributed to the shit selection because developers didn't want to abandon any hope of a future purchase. This is probably better.

How is renting on a subscription any better? They get a small "profit" from Sony/MS paying them a small fee per free download during that month and that's about it. How is it any different from doing the same for one month per free "ownership?"

[Great Rumbler]

[ToxicAdam]

Alex St. John


 http://blog.seattlepi.com/venture/2008/07/23/st-john-game-consoles-will-be-dead-by-2020/

Nailed that shit

[thisismyusername]

Alex St. John


 http://blog.seattlepi.com/venture/2008/07/23/st-john-game-consoles-will-be-dead-by-2020/

Nailed that shit

I don't see a massive shift to PC happening. But I can see "traditional" consoles dying.

If anything the shift to coding classes in schools (wish this happened when I was in school) means the "laptops at school" aren't gonna be used for gaming but building their own games/apps, etc. I don't see that supporting a "shift" so much.

[benjipwns]

[Raban]

I was out walking while listening to the Bombcast from this week and I almost collapsed from laughter at that part. Total annihilation.

[Rahxephon91]

That was amazing. I was listening to the podcast and then realized that wait somethings off. I really like it when Vinny has fun with the podcast.

[Raban]

they've been on point for a few weeks now. between the beef-mails and now this, I'm really enjoying it. I still really miss Ryan as the show's moderator as he was able to really get the most out of any joke the other guys would come up with, but this last month or so has made me feel like they've finally gotten back into their stride.
Danny O'Dwyer was a surprisingly fun addition, and Drew's bathroom butt-hole story had me

[Rufus]

That was amazing. I was listening to the podcast and then realized that wait somethings off. I really like it when Vinny has fun with the podcast.

When Ryan was still alive the Jeff episodes were secretly the best ones, even though he always fucked up the volume. Now the Vinny episodes are the best.

[Olivia Wilde Homo]

They've improved the podcast a lot by cutting out a lot of the non-gaming talk.  Turns out it often took up 60-90 minutes of the show so you have tighter, smaller shows.  Good move on their part.

Also a good move to drop the Bone to $399.  A power move would have been to include the Kinect since you want to have some differentiation in there.  Oh well, hopefully it starts improving things for Microsoft since I do like the Xbone and it still has a better library than the PS4 (although this will likely change in the coming months).

I really don't get how people enjoy this guy.

It's a one trick pony that refuses to go away.  It's pretty sad at this point.

[Purple Filth]

They've improved the podcast a lot by cutting out a lot of the non-gaming talk.  Turns out it often took up 60-90 minutes of the show so you have tighter, smaller shows.  Good move on their part.

Also a good move to drop the Bone to $399.  A power move would have been to include the Kinect since you want to have some differentiation in there.  Oh well, hopefully it starts improving things for Microsoft since I do like the Xbone and it still has a better library than the PS4 (although this will likely change in the coming months).

I really don't get how people enjoy this guy.

It's a one trick pony that refuses to go away.  It's pretty sad at this point.

it still gets him the hits.

i personally prefer vids with his real persona

[Great Rumbler]

Is he mocking over entitled consumers (GAF)? I just really don't get his "character".

Uh...yes? He's basically an amalgamation of every overweight nerd who spends all day complaining about everything that videogame companies do like it's the worst thing ever. In other words, the kinda person who votes EA as the worst company in the US.

[benjipwns]

When Ryan was still alive the Jeff episodes were secretly the best ones, even though he always fucked up the volume. Now the Vinny episodes are the best.

Jeff playing the numbers station buzzer all throughout making the entire podcast creepy.