Microsoft Stops Selling Original Xbox One Online
Microsoft has stopped selling the original Xbox One console in its online store for the United States. The gaming device has seemingly vanished overnight from the console's U.S. website, aside from a few refurbished models being cleared out.
Xbox fans browsing the console's official website will find that only two consoles are now on display — the newly-launched Xbox One X and the Xbox One S. Gone is the original Xbox One, with its two-tone finish reminiscent of a VHS player and the Kinect adapter that often goes along with it.
It's the same story with Microsoft's online store for the U.S., with the listings limited to retail options for the Xbox One S and the Xbox One X, aside from a few remaining entries for refurbished models of the original Xbox One, according to The Verge. These last holdouts are priced at $199, a fraction of its $499 introductory price.
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Microsoft's United Kingdom online store, meanwhile, lists the Xbox One as "Sold Out," as Kotaku UK notes. This unofficial pull-out marks the day that the company has tacitly declared the original Xbox One obsolete, months after production of new units have been stopped.
The original Xbox One did not fare very well in its battle with Sony's original PlayStation 4, which has been superseded by the PlayStation Slim last year as well. Mixed messages from Microsoft and a clumsy launch for the bundled Kinect sensor gave way to an early lead from the PS4, until the company unbundled the Kinect from the original Xbox One half a year after launch.
Last year also marked the launch of the Xbox One S, as well as the discontinuation of the earlier Xbox 360. After this move, Xbox fans now have a much simpler choice between the Xbox One S and the Xbox One X, the latter of which is about to be available for pre-order as a standard edition next month.
