Xbox head Don “buy an Xbox 360 if you can’t hook up to the Internet” Mattrick has inserted his foot into his mouth once again, this time by claiming that the Xbox One‘s $499 price tag is far too low for what the amazing wonder-machine offers consumers.
Mattrick explained the convoluted thinking process behind the Xbox One’s $499 price tag to Bloomberg TV, saying:
“It’s a lower number than some of the analysts had forecasted. We’re over-delivering value against other choices I think consumers can get… Any modern product these days you look at it [and] $499 isn’t a ridiculous price point. We’re delivering thousands of dollars of value to people, so I think they’re going to love it when they use it.”
Now, Mattrick is simply towing the company line and trying to justify why the Xbox One is priced $100 higher than the PlayStation 4, so much of what he said can be chalked up to being placed in an indefensible position. With that said, what exactly is it that Microsoft is “over-delivering” on?
My TV already does Live TV, pretty much every electronic device I own has Skype on it (the same goes for every entertainment app like Netflix and Hulu Plus), there are countless ways to get NFL programming and fantasy football, and I’m more than happy to let Microsoft keep Internet Explorer, Bing searches, and every Kinect feature to themselves.
The only thing I seem to be currently missing from the MS next generation super-value pack is the ability to play first-party Xbox One software. From what Microsoft has shown us so far, I’d hardly say that is worth $500.