Holding Out for an Xbox One or PlayStation 4 Price Drop? Prepare to Wait

Both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One experienced launches their respective parents can be proud of, what with 1 million units per being sold on day one and the general consensus being that both offer quite a good value. With both consoles now launched, though, the inevitable question arises: When can we expect price drops?

Alright – it’s kind of dumb to talk about price drops a mere week after either of these consoles launched, but speculation is fun. CNET’s Nick Statt takes a look at this question from a couple of different angles, and the final thought settles on “no price drops until 2015”. There are a couple of factors that backs this up.

For starters, both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are a great value out-of-the-gate. Sony’s PlayStation 3 launched back in 2006 for $600, while the PS4 has launched at $400. The Xbox One, by contrast, launches at $500 – $100 above the launch Xbox 360 – but it offers much more value (the biggest reason being the robust Kinect sensor).

I’m willing to bet that after seven years, people were dying for something new, so that caused a lot of people to upgrade. But had the consoles cost even more, it might have held a lot of people back given the graphical improvements aren’t a night-and-day difference versus the last-gen models.

Both Microsoft and Sony are enjoying huge demand, so in the near-future, there’s little need to begin considering a price-drop. Further, and unlike the last generation at launch, neither company is losing money on each console sold; Sony’s costs $381 to build, while Microsoft’s costs $471. Small margins, but with them, the cost of R&D and the actual production will pay for itself a lot quicker this generation than last.

Normally, when a console vendor lowers a price, it’s because sales are slow. There’s no telling when that problem is going to strike either Microsoft or Sony. Instead, what’s expected to lure hold-outs in are bundles. There are a number of games set to launch in the spring and early summer that could whet people’s appetites, and if either company wants to help seal the deal, bundling one of these games (or even launch titles… free games are enticing in general) could work wonders.

So, if in the market for one of these consoles, don’t anticipate a discount soon, but bear in mind that bundles might make the deal sweeter come spring – if the added value of $60 or so is enough to keep you waiting that long.