The holidays are just a couple of months away and just like the previous years, treats and deals should be expected.
Last December 2014, gamers were tickled with the plethora of deals - from Steam's holiday sale that cut game prices by as much as 75 percent to the free peripheral giveaways on hardware purchases.
This year, one of the earliest holiday treats that gamers can revel in is the high possibility of a price cut for the PlayStation 4 for the U.S. market after Sony's reported repricing in Japan.
According to reports, the ¥39,980 ($332) price tag on the PS4, will be readjusted down to ¥34,980 ($291) starting Oct. 1.
In an interview, Phil Spencer, Head of Microsoft's Xbox division, commented on the competitor's likely discounted hardware prices during the holidays.
"I fully expect the [PlayStation] will drop price. When I think about the playbook they've used in the past, we feel good about the plans we have in place going forward in the holiday," Spencer explained. "If history tells, then we'll see a price drop from them coming."
The Xbox executive also took note of Sony's attendance at the Paris Games Week, which will be held in Oct. 28 until Nov. 1, implying that Sony might announce the holiday price adjustments during the event. However, even with the competitor's forecasted price cuts, Spencer did not seem fazed and indicated that competition is good.
"It's great for gamers when price competition happens. We saw that last holiday, and we saw crazy sales numbers on all of the consoles," said the Xbox head.
Sony has consistently bested Microsoft in the console market for the majority of 2015 except in April when Xbox One unseated the PlayStation. Note that this is based on the NPD Group's report, which focused on physical sales through retailers and did not involve online sales figures.
Deals for both consoles are expected to get better once the retailers implement their own holiday promotions, which would involve free shipping, as well as bundled hardware and software to go with the purchases.
Photo: Leon Terra | Flickr
