Microsoft Defends Xbox One Price, Say They’re “Over-Delivering Value”

Microsoft have been discussing the new Xbox One on Bloomberg TV and have defended the higher price of the console when compared to the PlayStation 4.

The Xbox One will cost £429, the PS4 will cost £349.

“It’s a lower number than some of the analysts had forecasted,” said Microsoft’s Xbox boss Don Mattrick. “We’re over-delivering value against other choices I think consumers can get.”

“Any modern product these days you look at it [and] $499 isn’t a ridiculous price point. We’re delivering thousands of dollars of value to people, so I think they’re going to love it when they use it.”

I am not quite sure how Xbox One ‘over-delivers’ when compared the to PlayStation 4 especially when you consider that it has slower memory and more restrictive DRM.

Perhaps he is referring to the fancy wave-at-your-telly stuff.

Don concluded,  “We’re really making the living room your center of fun for your family.”

Source: Bloomberg via Gamespot.

66 Comments

  1. I do have to admit that when comparing the Xbox One with any modern smart phone, £429 is pretty cheap.
    But they should be comparing with other consoles, not other ‘modern products’.

    • Exactly. The only directly comparable product is the PS4 and that’s £70 cheaper.
      Anything else is apples and oranges

    • That just means that phones are over priced IMO

      • Couldn’t say it better. Over 400$ for a phone !!! NO thanks, I use my Nokia E71 and couldn’t be more satisfied with it.

      • My phone was £600 at launch but I still paid my stand contract (that I have for years) and got it for “free”. A phone is also far more useful than a console. Mobiles are almost a necessity, consoles certainly aren’t, Kinect is just about as far from essential as possible.

        MS seem to have forgotten that people are still struggling financially. Consoles aren’t something people have a lot of cash for.

  2. I think Don should be a comedian makes me laugh what stuff microsoft are coming out with, sorry but no sale.

  3. Oh dear. “Over-delivering value” is marketing bullshit at it’s worst. Everyone can see right through that, just tell us HOW you are delivering such good value? Except he can’t of course.

    • But he’s delivering thousands of dollars of value to people!

  4. They really havent got a clue have they ? what are they over-delivering value on ? as i honestly cant see any value in anything the xbox-one does.

    I dont want kinect controls or shouting xbox at my screen to do things, I dont want a camera always connected and listening, i dont want to watch tv through my console, I dont want my console permenantly connected to microsoft servers so it can do a daily check in to make sure i still own my stuff as i cant be trusted.

    what i do want is to be able to play the games that i buy anywhere i choose wether thats on my console or a friends console, i want to be able to trade this game in when im finished to buy new ones, i want to buy some second hand games at a cheaper price, i want a console where i can upgrade the hard drive with any of the shelf hard drive not proprietry overpriced hard drives. And most of all i want the console to be as cheap for me as possible.

    • couldn’t of said it any better really.

      • Also as for the comment ”We’re really making the living room your center of fun for your family.” we spend time as a family by going out to the cinema or for a meal, when in the house we hardly ever sit around a console and watch a movie or play a game, we all do our own thing. Nevermind shouting xbox play movie, xbox watch countdown, xbox watch coronation street ? or jump around waving our arms around like an idiot grinning inanely at shite kinect games like all the sickly sweet family kinect videos you see. honest to god, these numptys are now starting to make me angry to be honest.

    • “what i do want is to be able to play the games that i buy anywhere i choose wether thats on my console or a friends console, i want to be able to trade this game in when im finished to buy new ones, i want to buy some second hand games at a cheaper price, i want a console where i can upgrade the hard drive with any of the shelf hard drive not proprietry overpriced hard drives. And most of all i want the console to be as cheap for me as possible.”
      I have a answer to that – Buy a ‘PS4’ LoL:D

      • My thoughts exactly :)

      • Sorry meant to say at the end that id already pre-ordered my PS4 the day after the sony E3 conference. :)

  5. We’ve heard so much marketing BS from Microsoft this last week and its starting to get old. I watched the Apple iOS 7 video the other day, even though its oozing their typical smugness it sells their ideas so well, whereas Microsoft have made so little effort to sell their ideas and instead they’re just presented with the assumption that we’ll like them.

    • I agree.

      I actually think there are some interesting ideas wrapped up in the XboxOne – moves towards digital distribution, living room integration, off-loading to the cloud – but I can’t get over how amazingly badly the communication of all this has been handled, especially the confusion amongst some of the most senior people at Microsoft on some of the biggest (and most contentious) issues that the new platform promotes. The whole, seemingly unending, PR fallout indicates at best a company that doesn’t really understand it’s own product and, at worst, a company that is so incredibly arrogant that it doesn’t feel the need to explain itself to mere consumers.

      But, like you say, I’m also getting a bit bored of the constant stream of foot-in-mouth moments emanating from Microsoft and, dare I say it, the zeal with which the TSA commenters are kicking a company that is so obviously floundering with how to right a ship that’s blundered into the worst PR sh*tstorm in recent memory. I’m leaving it alone until we (and hopefully Microsoft) know more about what the XboxOne actually is and what it does.

      • What you said about not understanding it’s own product hits the nail right on the head! They’ve presumably got their consumers all plotted out with stats and in my opinion that’s the source of the problem.

  6. Wow, Microsoft are truely a visionary company.

    Business usually works by finding out what consumers want, then providing that at a competative price.

    They’ve really turned it on it’s head! They’re telling us what we want, and demanding a premium for it.

    Now that’s thinking outside the box! I bet some executive somewhere got Paid (capitalised “P” is deliberate) for this strategy.

  7. This PR hole really gets deeper and deeper every time someone from MS opens their mouth. It’s like a teenager who doesn’t know when to shut up. We are all like really we are not going to buy your new console okay we don’t like you any more so give it up and go home your just embarrassing yourself now Microsoft. I almost don’t want to read any more interviews it’s just all a bit uncomfortable now.

  8. I know im a bit thick, but please can you be a bit more specific on what this thousands of pounds worth of value is??? Just when you though M$ PR couldnt get any more embarrassing.

  9. I don’t like Xbox, but I must say the price difference is not as steep if you take in account that the camera for PS4 is not bundled in.
    Of course, it’s not our fault that there is no option to have an Xbone without the damn camera :P

    • Yeah it would’ve been so much cheaper without the Kinect camera. That is definitely something to be considered. I probably won’t be buying a camera for the PS4, so straight away that kinect camera is redundant to me, therefore I’m paying for something I don’t want. I was under the impression that xbox 360 was the ‘options’ console at launch, (additional HD-DVD drive, additional battery pack for controller, additional wireless adapter, yet cheaper base console), so why have they gone in the opposite direction for this generation?

    • Most would rather have a second controller or game than Kinect.

      It’s another area where MS want you to pay for something you probably don’t want. They can’t backtrack because the console will only function with it.

      TV’s are already coming with camera’s etc.. built in if you really want to wave your hands about and motion gaming seems to be starting to drift away now.

      • A second controller would be nice. It’s almost standard buying package when purchasing a console. MS….just stop talking for a while. The only thing they could do is drop the 24h check-in to save some face.

  10. That old Maxim comes to mind here, ‘You can’t polish a turd’

    • Nope, but you can laminate it!

      (Then build a camera into it and say you’re “over-delivering value”, I mean, how many other turds with built in cameras are there on the market?)

      • Yes, I concede your point there.

      • wouldn’t laminating it squash it!

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