Xbox One's Official U.S. price cuts (Why we question if Xbox is profitable)

I took some time yesterday to see how many price cuts the Xbox One has officially had in the US since launch. HOO boy. Since the video game sales wiki stopped tracking a long time ago, I took it up for myself to compile some data. If I missed something, let me know.

The info here is only for the OFFICIALLY advertised price cuts nationwide. Not the ones MS makes with individual retailers and gift card and (multiple!) game and controller giveaways. Those are too numerous and constant to effectively track. Not to mention the discounts that the Microsoft Store always tends to have for Xbox consoles. Overall, the results are staggering.

2013

Nov 22: Xbox One debuts at $499

2014

Jun 9th {permanent): $399 from $499 - Kinectless bundle

Nov 2nd (Limited): Christmas price cut - $50 off all bundles

Dec: Holiday cut cont.

Black Friday 2014: $329 Assassin's Creed Black Flag/Unity bundle + retailer specific perks

2015

Jan 3rd: Holiday sale ends

Jan 16th (Limited): "Limited" promotion, lasted several months - Xbox 500 GB bundles return to $349

Feb: Jan promotion cont.

Feb. 8 (Limited): $50 off Kinect Bundle/ Xbox Live price drop

Mar: Jan promotion cont.

Apr: Jan promotion cont.

May: Jan promotion ends.

Jun 9 {permanent): Official price drop to $349

Oct 29 (Limited): Kinect Bundle $399 from $499; Note: PS4 drops price to $349 for the first time this month

Black Friday 2015: All Xbox One bundles $50 off + retailer perks - 4 day promotion

Dec 9th (Limited): $50 off all Xbox One consoles

2016

Jan (Limited): $50 promotion continued for a week

Mar 22nd (Limited): Spring sale - $50 dollars off most consoles

Apr (Limited): Spring Sale continued all month

May 31st (Limited): All bundles $50 off - 1TB $319

Jun 13 (Limited): 500 GB Price cut to $279

Jul 24th: 500 GB models $249; Note: Xbox One S introduced the following month at $299 for the 500 GB model, $349 1TB, $399 2TB

Black Friday 2016: 500 GB Xbox One S lowered to $249 from $299, 1TB $299 from $349 + retailer perks

Dec 12 (Limited): $50 dollars off all consoles until the 24th

2017

Feb 18th (Limited): $50 off all consoles

Jun 11th (Limited): $50 off most consoles

Jul 7th (Limited): $20 cut off various Xbox One bundles; Note: OG Xbox One discontinued in Aug

Black Friday 2017: $189 Xbox One, $50 off various bundles

Cyber Monday: BF deal continued

Dec 22nd (Limited): $80 off select 500 GB bundles, $100 off ITB

2018

Jan: December deal continued

Feb 18th (Limited): $50 off all Xbox One S consoles

Mar 27th (Limited): Spring Sale - Xbox One S consoles $50 off

Wow. I think Xbox is rarely between official price drops these days. Like I say, this list doesn't include the price cuts and deals made with individual retailers, where the system (both models) has been as low as $199, and the console has been sold with as many as 4 games included at some retailers.

Again, I believe the showing that the Xbox One has had in the US is due to bargains, not so much content. The road to 20 million systems in America certainly didn't come at the strength of the product. One day, I'll have to compile a list for the UK too. which is also massive from what I understand.

Bonus: A few articles detailing the Xbox One's woes since being on the market. These deals come at a price.

https://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/2017-06-15-xbox-one-x-selling-at-a-loss

https://www.extremetech.com/gaming/251038-theres-no-profit-margin-microsoft-xbox-one-x

https://www.ibtimes.co.uk/xbox-one-has-raked-400-million-loss-microsoft-8-months-1460471

https://www.polygon.com/e3/2017/6/14/15804708/xbox-one-x-not-making-money

https://www.wired.com/2015/04/xbox-revenue-price-cut/

Holy shit, you need a new hobby...

@BenjaminBanklin: Just admit you love the Xbox

I guess I could damage control for Xbox. But that would take faaaar too much time.

So if you do the math, the boneX will be 350 next month. Hate to be a lem that bought a boneX in the past 6 months.

I imagine the first price cut will be at E3. MS never rests on their laurels.

Or... Hear me out... Not be this lame?

Good, you can finally afford one!

Don't get asshurt already. This could be informative.

Nah. Maybe when it's 50 bucks.

It's not profitable. If it was profitable MS would have told us how much money they were actual raking in profits.

They are hiding their profit numbers the same way they hide their sales numbers because they are embarrassed ?

When I enter this thread, I expected to see anything that says Xbox One X price cuts lol.

It's like, I keep hearing the narrative that "Xbox has really turned the ship around!", and "It's selling fine now", and I have to say... it is really? I mean, the thing is rarely at its MSRP with goodies included, and it still can't outsell its rivals. Something's obviously wrong.

Oh, that insult needs to take a sideline. It's old and boring.

You literally had to look up price drops for this thread. Be honest, how long did it take?

i believe the new, hip insult is "triggered"

With Google? Not long at all. This is an easily researchable thing. This is only the official price drops, and not their thousands of other retail specific deals.

soooo is that like an hour? 30 minutes?

I did it while working on a project at various times of the day. 'Twas nothing. I'm shocked the VG sales wiki stopped updating this. It's pretty enlightening.

probably because not even they found it informative

That's quite a bit of work when examining a financial summary document is far more disclosing.

The argument over whether Xbox is profitable or not is not the question of highest concern. In the 17 years since MS entered the market, they've made money from the Xbox division (just read their financials, it's hard to come up with amounts that would swallow the amount of revenue they've generated in spite of their playing coy with cost figures). The more salient and pressing question is whether the amount of profit is worth the investment it has exacted and whether a company like MS is better suited to put its capital in other endeavors. The slowburn it took for MS to reach profitability is less argumentative than whether the amount of profitability MS can exact from this industry is worthy of the attention they've put into it.

That’s good, it means more people can get the system at a cheaper price. ?

I don't disagree with you. It's just the financial reports I felt are becoming more murky. And I have this weird suspicious feeling that they're using the term gaming VERY loosely when they refer to their revenue. MS has gone into overdrive with the PR, trying to make Xbox One sound as fruitful as possible when its actions in the market seem to say something different.

I mean, they lost a mind boggling amount of money on the first Xbox, and still came back for a second round. So, you're right. I guess it really does boil down to their interest in the industry.

Now that's a serious obsession with something you don't own nor care about ROFL.

What do you expect? It's in order to please their share holders to keep investing with the company, and give them reasons why they have a gaming division. That's how business works, you need big time investors to believe in your company. If they don't, their shares drop and lose more funds.

EDIT: Sony pulled the same crap with investors, in the beginning of Gen 7, having to lose a ton of money on the PS3 and in order to keep investors happy. They merged PS2, PSP, and PS3 sales to one and call it the PlayStation Family.

Now if I did this for PS4, it would neither be very long, nor very controversial. Admit it.

This year should see at least a $50 price cut on Xbox One S and X.

Lmao... damn you cows need to get a life.

Or get an Xbox One X and then they don't have to cry about Power anymore.

@xhawk27: Some of them probably already do... they just won't admit it.

They don't know how investors work.

LMAO.

@BenjaminBanklin: So reducing the price of a product is controversial now LOL.

I bet when you were doing this "research" you got so excited you went off like a frog in a sock LOL.

I'm at work right now otherwise i would post one of those step away from the keyboard gifs.

Lmao, him & Quack.

Xbox is more interesting to Sony fannies than to owners of the system. The irony. No other group talks about the Xbox as often as they do. One may deduce that they were previous Xbox fanboys. LMAO

Who's crying about power? PS4 is getting the best looking games of this gen without having to spend another 500 bucks on a butthurt box. There's no envy narrative from PS4 gamers toward Xbox, stop it. LOL!

Lmao...

Nah, you think?

It kind of means you might have gotten the stepchild console. Xbox One turned out to be the ugly kid that needs a steak tied around his neck to get the dog to play with him. Only, it needs to be done every month... and his mom has to keep telling people how well they get along when it's obviously bullshit.

I honestly do not know if they were fanboys of the Xbox. :|

@hrt_rulz01 said:

@BenjaminBanklin said:

@xhawk27 said:

@hrt_rulz01 said:

Lmao... damn you cows need to get a life.

Or get an Xbox One X and then they don't have to cry about Power anymore.

Who's crying about power? PS4 is getting the best looking games of this gen without having to spend another 500 bucks on a butthurt box. There's no envy narrative from PS4 gamers toward Xbox, stop it. LOL!

Lmao...

Okay.

@BenjaminBanklin: Lol, yeah nice selective screen shots there... try harder.

I'd post some screenshots of Forza 7, Gears 4, Halo 5, Forza Horizon 3 etc running on X, but I can't be bothered. But hey, you keep living in blissful ignorance :)

And they'd get shot down by UC4, HZD, GoW, GTS etc. Yeah, so I wouldn't even try it.

@BenjaminBanklin: They tried so hard, i mentioned these things back in the day as well. Now that im seeing them all together, oh boy. Worse than i originally thought. When you see such things happening in the very first year of a systems life, something is wrong.

@BenjaminBanklin: Lol, you keep believing that... whatever makes you feel snugly at night :)

Here let me help. I want to see where this is going.

Yeah, that is one generic dude.

@Ant_17: Lol, again, nice selective screenshots there.

What? It's the best there is.

The shooty thing isn't blurry on the BoneX.

The only thing that's selective is your eyesight. Time to change your name to butthrt_rulz01.