This is an editorial piece. The views and opinions expressed within this article are those of the author and do not represent the views and opinions of The Outerhaven as an organization.
I’m just going to come right out and say it, Microsoft is kidding its self if the company believes that the Xbox One S All-Digital is going to sell as priced.
For months we’ve heard of an all-digital Xbox One and while most of us figured the rumors were true. We also figured that the system would have a smaller footprint, but also offer something that would entice people to purchase it. Thanks to yesterday’s reveal, we now know that it didn’t and doesn’t.
Coming in at $249.99 is a mistake we feel and one that’s could potentially doom the system. Currently, you can pick up an Xbox One S right now, for $249.99. That’s a complete Xbox One S with a disc-drive for people who still want to watch a video via optical disc or just download games.
Look at this listing from Best Buy, which shows not only the all-digital Xbox One S but the regular one as well. Do you see something unsettling here?
Or how about Gamestop’s offerings? Anything standing out to you?
Both of these stores are selling the regular Xbox One S at $249.99. Not just here, but on Amazon, Costo, eBay and there several others selling the system for the same price. At the same price!
There’s literally no reason that anyone would purchase this new all-digital Xbox One S. Not with what we’re looking at above. And it’s not like this is a one-time thing as the Xbox One S is constantly on sale for $249.99 or less. With a disc drive, with a 1TB drive and zero compelling reasons pass over it.
While the all-digital Xbox One S has zero reasons why I’d pick this up. Not to mention that since they did remove the disc drive, why didn’t they add in a 2TB drive instead? If we’re talking about going completely digital, a 1TB drive is just a drop in the bucket. With games being as large as they are now, gamers are going to be installing games and then uninstalling them to make room just as fast. Just taking a glance at the installed games on my Xbox One, I see quite a problem.
- Forza Horizon 4 + DLC – 74GB
- Forza Motorsport 7 – 98GB
- Gears of War 4 – 112GB
- Mortal Kombat XL – 42GB
- NBA 2K19 – 60GB
- Rise of the Tomb Raider – 30GB
- Shadow of the Tomb Raider – 30GB
- Red Dead Redemption 2- 114GB
- Killer Instinct 2 – 48GB
That’s just a handful of games and I’m sitting at 600GB. Which isn’t counting the smaller games or games that I’ve uninstalled such as Resident Evil 2, Battlefield V, or State of Decay 2. An all-digital console should at the very least make up for the removal of the disc drive with a bigger hard drive. I’m sure I’m not the only here who feels this. C’mon Microsoft, this thing needs a 2TB drive. Otherwise there’s going to be a lot of installing and uninstalling going on. Or you could just pay more get get an external drive but that’s a consumer call.
At this point, it feels like this a test run for the upcoming next-generation of Xbox consoles, more than anything else. And while there’s nothing wrong with that, this sort of test doesn’t seem like it’s going to get a passing grade.
When the regular Xbox One S can be had for the same price as an all-digital edition and can do more. Coming in at $250 is definitely a mistake. Now, if Microsoft drops the price to $199, then I’d feel better about the chances of the all-digital edition. As for right now and the current price, I don’t see this thing flying off the shelves.
The fix? In my eyes would be to simply drop the asking price to something lower. Perhaps coming in at $199, I could see this selling a bit better. Only time will tell if Microsoft thinks the same thing and drops the price $50 or more. As it stands right now, it’s giving us less for the same asking price. Which doesn’t sit well with me.
What do you think? Is the asking price for this new Xbox One S a bit too steep or is it just right? Let us know in the comments.
