14 DAY TRIAL // The team at Microsoft working on the Xbox One is continuing its efforts to make the next-gen console more attractive to potential buyers by advertising it to those who already own an older Xbox 360, and by offering all those who are ready to upgrade a 75 dollar (58 Euro) promotional code.
The money can be spent by those who get the new device in order to get a new video game, media content, add-ons or even pay for the Xbox Live service in its Gold incarnation.
Basically, using the promotional code offered to users of the Xbox 360 means that the price of the newer device goes down from 399 dollars or Euro to 324 dollars or Euro.
It’s unclear whether the promotion is currently offered only in the United States, or if a version for the European market, which might include a different date, is also being planned, according to NeoGAF.
At the same time, it seems that only a limited number of those who own an Xbox 360 have received the promotion up to this moment, and it’s unclear what kind of criteria Microsoft is using to choose who is eligible.
The Xbox One is at the moment lagging in terms of sales when compared to the rival PlayStation 4 from Sony.
Microsoft has dropped the Kinect motion-tracking system from the core retail package and has reduced the price in order to boost sales, and fans are eagerly waiting to see the impact of these measures when sales for the month of June on the United States market are announced in a few days.
The console is also coming to a number of secondary markets, including Japan, in September, with some discounts for launch titles.
In order to boost the numbers of the Xbox One, the company has also delivered some more information on the Halo content that will be launched later in the year and in 2015, and has introduced a range of television-like series to its platform.
Analysts are estimating that more than 9 million units of the PlayStation 4 have been sold all over the world since it was introduced in November, while during the same period Microsoft has only managed to deliver about 6 million devices to stores.
The competition between the two next-gen platforms will heat up towards the end of the year, and more price drops and promotions are possible.