The reduction will not appear on any other market

Sep 23, 2014 21:21 GMT  ·  By

Platform holder Microsoft announces that it is cutting the price of the Xbox One home console in the United Kingdom to 329.99 British Pounds, which is the equivalent of 541 dollars (421 Euro), and that the move is designed to only be introduced in the territory.

The company is not offering a clear reason for the reduction in the cost of its device, but an official statement quoted by CVG explains that "We are always looking at ways to offer the best value for our customers. This is a UK only retail promotion which coincides with our upcoming releases including Forza Horizon 2, Sunset Overdrive and Halo: The Master Chief Collection."

In June, the price of the device went down when Microsoft decided to eliminate the Kinect motion tracking system from the core retail package in order to make the entire platform more competitive with the PlayStation 4 from Sony.

The big Sunset Overdrive hardware bundle, which will include the white version of the Xbox One, is offered for the same price and there are some retailers that are also allowing gamers to pick up one free title when they get the home console.

The PlayStation 4 leads the current-gen console race

Microsoft is at the moment at a loss when it comes to ways to boost sales of the Xbox One on all major markets without discounting it even more.

Recently, a tracking firm reported that the launch of Destiny, developed by Bungie and published by Activision, pushed sales of the PlayStation 4 sales up by 300 percent in the United Kingdom, and the trend seems to be holding for a second seven-day period.

Microsoft has apparently been exploring the possibility of cutting the price of the Xbox One by another 50 dollars all over the world, but the company has dismissed the rumor and says that it plans to give players value by launching new apps and games for the platform.

The company has recently also announced that it is planning to launch its new device on the big Chinese market on September 29, after it delayed the initial release from September 23 for unspecified reasons.

Sony claims that the PlayStation 4 has more than 10 million units sold worldwide and that the company is planning another major marketing push for the platform in time for the all important Christmas shopping season, probably focusing on the coming DLC for Destiny.