Microsoft has responded to recent November 27 Xbox One release date claims by retailers, suggesting the listings are nothing more than placeholders.
With Amazon this weekend adding a November 27 Xbox One release date prediction to its holding page for Microsoft’s next-generation console, Microsoft has responded to such claims, stating it has yet to inform retailers as to when the eagerly awaited PS4 rival will land.
While an Xbox One price was officially announced as £429 during Microsoft’s E3 press conference earlier this month, currently the manufacturer has been no more specific on an Xbox One release date than to see it will land “in November 2013.”
Responding to the November 27 Xbox One release date rumours, an official Microsoft spokesperson stated: “We have not informed our retail partners about a specific launch date for the Xbox One.”
They added: “It is commonplace for retailers to put placeholders dates and prices into our system until they are given a specific date and price. We are excited to release the Xbox One in November 2013.”
Although Microsoft has yet to finalise the Xbox One release date, it is expected the next-gen gamer will land within a matter of days of the PS4 launch. Remaining equally tight-lipped, to date Sony has offered a PS4 release date no more specific that the “2013 holiday season.”
With a bitter and fierce rivalry expected between the two next-gen consoles, Sony has already gained the upper hand on Microsoft with the PS4 price £80 cheaper than that of its rival at £349.
Due to this gulf in price between the two consoles, industry analysts have suggested Microsoft could already be plotting Xbox One price cuts for early next year.
“We think that Microsoft is prepared to lower price next year,” Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter said in a note to investors.
“We are confident that with six months of focused messaging, Microsoft can fully level the playing field with Sony, and we expect the Xbox One to sell as many units as the PS4. If we are wrong, we think that Microsoft is prepared to lower price next year.”
Read More: Xbox One pre-orders
Via: EGM
