Microsoft Luring Xbox One Buyers with Big Trade-In Credit

It’s been almost a year and a half since Microsoft began selling its Xbox One gaming console. In that time it’s rolled out some unbelievable deals, including a price cut that makes the Xbox One’s basic bundle a mere $349. Now the company’s Microsoft Store retail are is going back to the basics to offer even more savings. When trading in an Xbox 360 or Sony’s PS3 users can get the Xbox One for just $249.

Microsoft recently extended the Xbox 360 and PS3 trade-in program it offers at its retail stores. The trade-in program gives users a coupon that they can use to purchase an Xbox One when they trade-in their PS3 and Xbox 360. The big story here is that Microsoft is guaranteeing that owners of working consoles will get $100 in coupons for their trade-in. That’s a lot for older models of the Xbox 360 and PS3, which fetch around $30 to $40 if sold to retailer GameStop.

To be clear, there are a few strict terms. First, the Xbox 360 or PS3 being traded must be in working order. Microsoft defines that as powering on and free of any security codes like the numeric codes that Microsoft lets parents lock down their child’s Xbox 360 with. Microsoft is also checking the seal of each and every Xbox 360 and PS3 being traded to make sure it hasn’t been open and tampered with. If the seal has been tampered with the company has the right to reject it.  There are also some required accessories that need to be traded with the console too. Those include a controller, audio and video cables that came with the console inside the box and the power cord specific to that console. Again, the value isn’t a gift card it’s a coupon, meaning it applies only to buyers of the Xbox One. Shoppers won’t be able to use this deal to save on the other products that the Microsoft Store sells.

The $249 Xbox One figure is simply based on having an original Xbox 360 with a 60GB hard drive. Things don’t exactly get more interesting for users who have a more modern Xbox 360 though. An Xbox 360 E with a 320GB hard drive only fetches $100 in trade-in credit from the Microsoft Store too.

All told, it’s still an amazing deal for anyone trying to save on upgrading to an Xbox One. This Xbox One trade-in deal is scheduled to expire on March 31st. It’s unclear whether the Microsoft Store will continue to offer anything close to this value for trade-ins after the program wraps up. As such, it’s a very good idea to take advantage of the deal now. This deal is the culmination of months of savings and smart moves.

Originally, the Xbox One cost $499 and included no games. Users did get the Xbox One’s Kinect 2 sensor inside the box, but that was it. Over 2014 Microsoft fine tuned their offerings. First it started including games with every Xbox One console. The bundles Microsoft now sell include either Titanfall or Assassin’s Creed Unity free of charge. Then Microsoft introduced a cheap Xbox One console that included a game and didn’t have the Kinect 2 sensor for $399. Since late last year it’s offered a $50 promotional discount for those trying to save even more.

Microsoft has been able to ride all of these promotions and handouts to the top of the game console sales charts in the United States. At least, it worked for the months of November and December. Microsoft still sells the Xbox One with Kinect 2 sensor for $499. Users can now buy the Kinect 2 sensor separately.