As a lead up to the release of the Xbox One S, Microsoft has dropped the price of the current 500 GB version of the Xbox One to $249. That’s $50 cheaper than the console had been selling for. And this applies to any 500 GB models, even the bundles. It’s an aggressive move considering the PlayStation 4 still costs more than $300.
The price drop was announced by Larry Hryb, aka Major Nelson on Twitter last week. The announcement on the official Xbox news site says the sale is available while “supplies last.” That’s statement could be construed to say Microsoft may be cutting back or abandoning production of the original Xbox One.
The Xbox One S is the new, slimmer version of the Xbox One and will be available on August 2. Specifically, the 2TB version of the Xbox One S will be available on that date. Different hard drive options are on the way, but no release date was given for those. The version coming in August will cost $399.
Releasing the Xbox One S in August gets Microsoft out in front of Sony in the 4K and HDR streaming video battle we’ve been hearing so much about. The early release is definitely a push by Microsoft to narrow the sales gap between the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4.
