Microsoft Faces Real Problem if PS4 Drops to $349, Needs To Decouple Kinect From Xbox One: Pachter

The Xbox One may have had a troubled history before its launch – with DRM issues, criticism of its indie development policy and so much more – but the console has slowly come in to its own since then. The removal of Don Mattrick and appointment of Microsoft Games Studios head Phil Spencer as boss of the Xbox division has indicated as much and the company is touting some major announcements for E3. But will that be enough considering the lead the PS4 has?

GamingBolt spoke to Managing Director of Equity Research at Wedbush Securities Michael Pachter about the same, and barring a price cut and Kinect, would Microsoft be able to bounce back considering the weak first party content it had near the end of the Xbox 360’s run (especially compared to the PS3 which had The Last of Us, Puppeteer, etc.)?

Pachter stated that, “Well, I mean, it’s funny when you say they have the weakest first party, because Uncharted, and inFamous, and The Last of Us, I would bet you if you took a single version of those three games, they don’t add up to Halo. And I would say if you take the next three games made by Sony’s first party studios, they won’t add up to Gears of War. So, I agree with you in the sense that the number of titles Sony has is more, but I think in terms of sales, it’s much closer, and might actually tilt in Microsoft’s favor.

“So, I don’t think you should make too much of an argument about how weak Microsoft’s first party content is, because most of Sony’s first party games that are successful are not gigantic sellers. I think that ultimately, for the Xbox One to be successful, the Kinect has to be decoupled from it, and I think that might be hard, because there’s a lot of stuff going on with the hardware where it’s all integrated, and it might not work.

“But I think that you will probably get in 2015 a redesigned Xbox One that has no Kinect, and I think what will accelerate that process is if Sony cuts the PS4’s price: if there is a $349 PS4 on the market, Microsoft has a real problem. They’re gonna have to do something, and they’ll have to do it really quickly. I think that in 2015, you might see a $349 PS4, and an uncoupled Xbox One, and if you see both of those for $349, the consumer wins, and they will both sell very well. Microsoft is not looking to lose this cycle.”

There have been rumours about Microsoft considering an Xbox One without Kinect, but a price drop for the PS4 a little more than a year after its launch? There’s no denying it’d be a big enough threat for Microsoft, but will it actually? Let us know what you think of Pachter’s views in the comments.