During the 2014 holiday season, Microsoft offered a price cut on the Xbox One console — dropping the price from $399 to $349. Thanks to this price cut, the Xbox One became the best-selling console in the U.S. in November and December and weekly average sales during these months outpaced Xbox 360 by 50 percent at the same point in its lifecycle.
Starting January 16th as part of a new promotion, Microsoft will be (once again) offering the Xbox One for $349. No word if Microsoft ever plans to make this price cut permanent, but it seems like the company enjoys offering it as a promotion.
“I want to thank all of the Xbox fans who contributed to our record-setting holiday and making 2014 such a successful year. The Xbox One deals were quite popular and have inspired a new promotion starting January 16 where fans in the U.S. can buy an Xbox One for $349 at their preferred retailer,” Microsoft’s Major Nelson (Larry Hryb) stated in an official blog post.
Microsoft also revealed some interesting stats about the Xbox One and Xbox 360. Did you know that the Xbox One sold more games throughout November and December in the United States than any other current-gen platform?
- Xbox 360 became the best-selling seventh generation console of all time in the U.S.
- In 2014, users logged nearly 8 billion hours globally in apps across Xbox 360 and Xbox One, a 50 percent increase from time spent in 2013.
- Xbox One became the best-selling console in the U.S. in November and December and weekly average sales during these months outpaced Xbox 360 by 50 percent at the same point in its lifecycle.
- Xbox One also sold more games throughout November and December in the U.S. than any other current-generation platform.
- From November 24 to January 3, fans spent more time playing on Xbox than they ever have before, at any point in the history of Xbox.
- In the Halo 5: Guardians Multiplayer Beta alone, 18 million games have been played to date.
In the embedded video below, Phil Spencer, the head of Xbox, looks ahead to the 2015 year. In the video, he talks about upcoming games, features and what it means to present at the upcoming Windows 10 media briefing on January 21st.
“Since it launched last year, Xbox Feedback has been instrumental in helping us best determine what our fans want and expect from us, and it’s clear that the Xbox One wouldn’t be what it is today without their valued input,” said Phil Spencer, Head of Xbox. “We’re incredibly proud of the Xbox One and are fully committed to ensuring it’s the best place to play console games in 2015 and beyond.” You can watch the video below.
