Microsoft to Launch Disc-Less Xbox One for Under $200 in 2019: Report

HIGHLIGHTS

• The reason for this move is to reduce the console's price
• There will be an Xbox One S with a disc drive too
• The company may allow users to trade in disc games for digital copies

Microsoft may launch a disc-less Xbox One₹ 4,599 in 2019 according to sources familiar with the company's plans. In addition to forsaking physical media, it also plans to allow Xbox One owners to trade in their existing games on disc for digital downloads. The reason for such a drastic move is to get the price of the Xbox One lower and ensuring its under $200 (around Rs. 14,000).

"Currently, it costs about $299 to buy into the Xbox One family of devices," writes Xbox insider Brad Sams. "Microsoft is looking to lower that price by possibly as much as $100; the new console price point is expected to be $200 or less."

If you're in the market for a new Xbox One that can play games without having to go online or worry about Microsoft's servers being unavailable, you're in luck. There will be another Xbox One S variant that ships with a disc drive. Sams states that "Microsoft is moving forward very carefully with this product as it knows that a sizeable portion of its users do prefer to buy physical games and not download them." Though if this was really the case, it wouldn't be exploring a disc-free Xbox One to begin with.

And while the company may allow Xbox One owners to trade their games on discs for digital downloads, it's not entirely new. Sony had a similar program for its PSP users in Japan during the launch of the PS Vita though it never saw the light of day outside of that country.

Previously Sams stated that Microsoft had two Xbox One streaming devices in the works. The first will be built along the lines of the Chromecast and priced at around $100. The other will be "like the Apple TV", possibly integrating with Windows 10 apps and supporting lightweight games. It could be priced between $150 and $175. These will help Microsoft target and hopefully win back the living room. It appears that these plans have been put on the back burner as it focusses on simply removing the disc drive from the Xbox One, which we hope doesn't come to fruition given that accessing your library of content depends on Microsoft's servers being online and having a super fast Internet connection is mandatory.