If you’ve been holding out for an Xbox One because of its price, there hasn’t been a better time to buy the console.
Microsoft on Sunday slashed the cost of its 500GB Xbox One to $249, down from $279, marking the company’s third price cut in the past three months.
The “limited time” discount, which includes bundle packages, is available just before Microsoft releases its redesigned console, the Xbox One S, which is 40 percent smaller than the original Xbox One and has a built-in power supply.
The Xbox One S debuts Aug. 2 in North America, Europe, and Australia. The 2TB version of the console, priced at $399, will be available first. The 1TB version at $349 and the 500GB version at $299 will be released later,
Microsoft’s Xbox business competes directly with Sony’s PlayStation 4 — priced at $349 — which leads the current console generation and has been performing well for the Japanese electronics giant in recent results. Microsoft has stopped reporting Xbox console unit sales as part of its quarterly results.
As part of its quarterly report earlier this month, Microsoft said gaming revenue decreased $152 million, or 9 percent, to $1.53 billion. That was primarily due to a decline of 33 percent in Xbox hardware revenue, which the company attributed to “a decline in consoles sold and lower prices of consoles sold.”
However, Xbox Live monthly active users grew 33 percent to 49 million, while Microsoft saw increased revenue from the online service by 4 percent.