PlayStation 4 Should Get a Promotional Price Drop to Compete with Microsoft
Recently, Microsoft announced a special promotional price drop for the Xbox One. Microsoft certainly had a good holiday season. In the US, the Xbox One was the best-selling video game console for the key holiday sales months of November and December. On top of that, Microsoft announced a promotional price drop of the Xbox One, down to $349.99. Last month, the Sony PlayStation had to deal with cyber intrusions and outages on the PlayStation Network. As a result, Sony offered five-day extensions for PlayStation Plus membership and 10 percent discounts at the PlayStation Store. However, this is not enough. In this competitive free marketplace, Sony PlayStation should consider upping the ante against Microsoft and releasing some sort of promotional price drop for the PlayStation 4, or a bargain discounted bundle pack.
The PlayStation 4 has sold about 19 million units. Around mid November 2014, the Xbox One had sold around 10 million units (per VGChartz.com). More than likely, that number for the Xbox One is considerably higher after the Thanksgiving and Christmas holiday shopping seasons. So, while the PlayStation 4 might be ahead of the Xbox One in total numbers, Microsoft is clearly catching up. Not to mention, the positive momentum has shifted this month in favor of the Xbox One. In response, Sony PlayStation should try to rebuild goodwill among the PlayStation 4 fanbase. It is not sufficient to offer measly discounts and PlayStation Plus extensions. It does not make up for the constant network outages and crashes on the PlayStation Network.
A seasonal price drop could definitely send a message that Sony PlayStation is not to be outdone. In addition, 2015 is a big year for exclusive PlayStation 4 releases. A price drop would give players extra incentive to buy the console to play the new, exclusive PlayStation 4 games. 2015 will see the release of some big, exciting games for the PlayStation 4, including The Order: 1886, No Man’s Sky, Bloodborne and Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, to name a few. Some of these are great-looking titles that will only be available on the PlayStation 4. Xbox One is getting some big exclusive titles this year.
Hopefully, the recent news surrounding the Xbox One will light a fire under the bigwigs at Sony PlayStation. The Sony PlayStation 4 definitely started much stronger out of the gate than Microsoft’s Xbox One. However, the tide looks like it is now turning in the Xbox One’s favor. Sony PlayStation needs to make sure it can do better to secure the PlayStation Network from cyber intrusions. On top of that, a new price drop could definitely entice older PlayStation 3 players who are waiting to upgrade to a new console, but have become disappointed by all the network outages. Ultimately, it is the call of the decision makers of Sony PlayStation.