PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 02: A player uses a video game controller as he plays the video game ‘Super Lucky’s Tale’ developed by Playful Corps and published by Microsoft Studios on a Microsoft Xbox One X console during the ‘Paris Games Week’ on November 02, 2017 in Paris, France. ‘Paris Games Week’ is an international trade fair for video games and runs from November 01 to November 5, 2017. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
Console wars hot up as discless X-Box one release is planned for Black Friday 2019
Microsoft will look to score big points in their console war against Sony with the release of a discless X-box One at E3 according to industry insiders.
PARIS, FRANCE – NOVEMBER 02: A player uses a video game controller as he plays the video game ‘Super Lucky’s Tale’ developed by Playful Corps and published by Microsoft Studios on a Microsoft Xbox One X console during the ‘Paris Games Week’ on November 02, 2017 in Paris, France. ‘Paris Games Week’ is an international trade fair for video games and runs from November 01 to November 5, 2017. (Photo by Chesnot/Getty Images)
Microsoft will look to score big points in their console war against Sony with the release of a discless X-box One, no it won’t be out in time for Black Friday but the tech giant hopes to have the product on the shelves before the end of 2019 according to industry insiders.
The device will reportedly not be part of the next generation Scarlett family of consoles that Microsoft intends to release in 2020.
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Microsoft are mulling over a ‘disc-to-digital’ program that would allow customers with hard copies of games to trade their disc for a digital download at participating retailers.
Brad Sams of Thurrott.com claims that Microsoft will launch the new product at the E3 Expo in early 2019 with a release date somewhere around Black Friday.
E3 2019 Patch Notes
* Added polygons to hexagon mesh.
* Teal out. Sherbert in.
* Increased yearly numerical counter by one.
* Everyone’s here. Everyone plays. #E32019 pic.twitter.com/povMcokk4U— E3 (@E3) September 28, 2018
Sams writes that Microsoft are targeting a significant drop in the price point of the product to open up console gaming to a larger market.
“The goal with the new console is to lower the price point for the hardware. Currently, it costs about $299 to buy into the Xbox One family of devices, Microsoft is looking to lower that price by possibly as much as $100; the new console price point is expected to be $200 or less.
“In addition, the company also has a revised Xbox One S SKU that is targeted for later in the year that focuses solely on cost reduction but does feature a disc-drive for those who still prefer the traditional way to buy your games. Microsoft is moving forward very carefully with this product as it knows that a sizeable portion of its users do prefer to buy physical games and not download them.”
Sams predicts a bright future for the Xbox family and Microsoft:
“Under Phil Spencer, Microsoft is investing heavily in its Xbox brand and announced the acquisition of a couple of new gaming studios over the weekend. When you pair this new hardware with the upcoming streaming service the company is developing, the road ahead for Xbox fans is incredibly bright.”
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