Xbox One price drop in 2014, says 'senior source'

Following a weekend of Xbox One leaks, a "well-respected source" confirms that the Xbox One will be given a price drop by the year's end.

Responding to suggestions that the Xbox One would see a price cut before too long, a source told VG247 that a new model of the 2013 console would be released before the end of the year and priced at less than the current going rate of $499.

That sort of information could encourage game fans to delay purchasing the more popular PlayStation 4 and hold out for a cheaper Xbox One, if they were so inclined -- though whether it'd be less than the PS4's $399 has not been touched upon.

This latest batch of Xbox One rumors started flying when a user called "ntkrnl" told video game forum NeoGAF about his inside line on the Xbox One's release schedule.

Predictions included a new "Forza Horizon," the episodic "Quantum Break," and multiplayer action game "Sunset Overdrive" for late 2014, "Halo 2 Anniversary" on November 11, with Xbox One versions of "Halo 3" and "Halo 4" in the works and "Halo 5" hitting in 2015.

An image of a "TitanFall"-branded Xbox One suggested that the console exclusive's March release would be accompanied by a limited edition machine, while a white Xbox One was predicted for October (verified in part by The Verge).

"I've heard for a few months that they wanted to annualize Halo... Remakes in-between explains it," confirmed Pete Dodd (@atFamousmortimer), who had correctly leaked a delay to "Driveclub" on PS4 and the relative graphical weakness of "Call of Duty: Ghosts" on Xbox One.

"The titanfall console was real. They decided not to do it. Cost being the major factor. So he was right, but his info is old. Makes me think he is a scorned former ms employee, not a current one."

But on reflection, Dodd decided that ntkrnl was under orders from Microsoft. "NTKNRL is controlled marketing," he wrote on his blog.

And another established leaker had doubts about ntkrnl's motivations. "I hope that was a controlled leak, because if it wasn't you really don't cover your tracks well," tweeted Ahsan Rasheed (@thuway).