While Sony is still getting its boots on, Microsoft is already past the starting line. As Xbox Series X reveals its full specifications , Microsoft has begun to move away from the console as a static concept and towards console as a multi-generational brand. WIth the news all new Xbox One games will also release a free Xbox Series X upgrade, Microsoft is making it better value to stay with Xbox, and more expensive to move over to its competitors like Sony and Nintendo.
Now with Xbox One S and Xbox One X prices dropping at stores everywhere, Microsoft seems to be trying to hook first-time gamers currently sitting on the fence in for multiple generations.
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As of right now, you can pick up Xbox One X (the world's most powerful console for another seven months) bundled with Star Wars Jedi: Fallen Order for just $299 from Best Buy. That's a saving of $200 off full retail price.
Don't mind compromising on spec for more variety (and a lower price point)? You can also nab the X's less powerful sibling, the all-digital Xbox One S, bundled with three top games: Minecraft, Sea of Thieves and Fortnite. All that for $199.99.
Check out the deals in full below:
Of course, there seems to be something larger at work here. After announcing that Xbox Series X would be compatible with older games, Microsoft also heralded the age of "smart delivery", which means that you buy a game once and get it for multiple platforms.
For example, let's say you buy the new Cyberpunk 2077 on release for the Xbox One. In one year's time, when you're deliberating which console to get, you'll be more inclined to pick up the Xbox Series X as you'll get your next-gen copies of Cyberpunk 2077, and other games like Halo: Infinite, for absolutely free. You'll also be able to play your existing library of Xbox One games on the Series X as they are.
Dropping the price now encourages people to buy the current-gen console and creates a bank of people who are then likely to buy the Xbox Series X in the future. It creates a new multi-generational ecosystem of Xbox gamers, and is a very smart strategy by Microsoft.
The question is: will it work? It all hangs on whether the PS5 adopts a similar strategy, and has backwards compatibility enabled. If not, Sony fans could find themselves swaying towards Microsoft's corner rather than buying Skyrim for the third time.
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