During a recent post-earnings conference call, Gamestop president Tony Bartel talked about how only nine days after the announcement from Microsoft, the $399 Xbox One without Kinect is generating a lot of interest. During the call, Bartel had the following to say:
“I definitely think we’re already seeing in our stores with our reservation program as well as dialogue with PowerUp Rewards [members that] there’s a stronger demand as a result of the price drop”. “The good news for us is… we’ll sell a lot more units.”
There has been a lot said about Microsoft’s decision to omit the Kinect from the Xbox One package, but the simple fact is that Microsoft is conceding the early lead to the PlayStation 4 and every prospective customer is important when you’re trying to be the console leader. Having the higher console count worldwide gives the platform greater sway with game companies that could be considering a singular platform for exclusivity instead of multi-platform. Microsoft are in a position to simply outperform Sony ’til kingdom come because, as a company, Microsoft has significantly more money and talent to throw at the Xbox. That’s not to say that the Xbox One is a platform that will see unlimited amounts of money thrown at it but that Microsoft can and will do whatever it takes to see their new console see its true potential. With all of the qualms about opting for GDDR3 and an ESRAM module to handle the graphics and the confusion over Xbox One policies, Microsoft’s recent announcement of a $399 Xbox One console is yet another back-step from the original vision of Xbox. Still, it’s better to saturate the market with the core console first then create reasons to buy a Kinect later with excellent motion and voice-controlled games – something Microsoft and partners haven’t quite found their stride with yet.
Xbox One Game Source 