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Xbox One discounted for limited time, following strong holiday sales

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The price of an Xbox One is going down to $350, from its standard $400, as part of a deal that starts today, January 16, Microsoft announced. Although an end date is not specified, the discount is characterized as a “promotion,” implying that it is not a permanent price cut, but rather a temporary sale to continue the momentum from what Microsoft characterized as a “record-breaking holiday.”

According to a report from the NPD Group, Xbox One was the best-selling console in the critical retail months of November and December 2014, outpacing Microsoft’s previous console, the Xbox 360, by 50-percent at the same point in the earlier console’s life cycle. NPD’s Liam Callahan also noted that “bundles were a major driver of hardware sales this December compared to last with 71-percent of hardware unit sales stemming from bundles including software, which compares to 32-percent of hardware sales last December.” Xbox One bundles with Kinect have not been affected by the price drop, still retailing for $500.

Xbox’s fearless leader, Phil Spencer, addressed the community in a video as part of the same update, praising the console’s last year and expressing excitement over what 2015 has in store. Specifically, the long-requested screenshots feature will finally debut in early 2015, according to Spencer.

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Will Fulton
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Will Fulton is a New York-based writer and theater-maker. In 2011 he co-founded mythic theater company AntiMatter Collective…
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