There's no doubt about it, the Xbox One has been a massive success for Microsoft since it's Nov. 22, 2013 release. The Xbox 360 successor has already sold millions of units, but its chief rival, the Sony PS4, has sold even more. As of today, the Xbox One costs $500 and the PS4 costs $400. How will Microsoft close this gap? You can forget about a straight up price cut on the current system at this point in time. Instead, Microsoft seems to be prepping a revised, cheaper Xbox One for release later this year.

Before I talk further about the cheaper system, let's look at how the existing consoles stack up. Cost difference aside both the Xbox One and PS4 feature much improved graphics over their predecessors. They also aren't backwards compatible with Xbox 360 and PS3 games. The similarities continue will subtle, but welcome changes to the gamepads. The Xbox One controller and the DualShock 4 are more ergonomically pleasing than ever before. Other similarities include the use of Motion control technology. Sony's PlayStation 4 Camera and Move Motion Controller are sold separately. The DualShock 4 and Move have light bars that work in tandem with the camera to provide motion control.

If you're into all this motion control business, but balk at the sight of a $500 dollar console, consider this: if you purchase the PS4 Camera and the PS4 together, the price of that bundle shoots up to $470. The Xbox One purchase price includes a camera and sensor called the Kinect. Both consoles use Blu-ray disc drives. This means that you can watch Blu-ray movies on your Xbox One or PS4 in addition to playing games. 

The cheaper Xbox One will have everything I've listed above, except for the Blu-ray drive. The drive is a very expensive component and it needs to be eighty-sixed. Leaving it out will help Microsoft deliver a $400 Xbox One. The lack of the disc-drive means that the cheaper Xbox One will be a media streaming and downloading hub. So how will you play games without a disc? Thankfully, Xbox Live and its e-Commerce unit Xbox Live Marketplace exist. This digital hub will be essential for a discless Xbox One's survival. 

If you're the type of gamer that embraces change and innovation, the revamped Xbox One may be the way to go. However, the discless Xbox's one success will depend on whether consumers want to forgo traditional brick-and-mortar game purchases. Competitive pricing needs to be taken under careful consideration as well. Without a box and a physical disc, why should a game still cost $60? Another issue that needs to be examined is file sizes and download times. As many as 3 percent of Americans still rely on dial-up, according to BGR. A 30GB download, for example, may take days! Disc-based games are great because you can simply install the Xbox One game directly onto the hard drive.

Obviously this issue needs to be addressed, but there are still several reasons why this rumor seems credible. The PS4 undercuts the Xbox One by a cool $100. Microsoft desperately wants to target consumers in PS4's $400 price range. It would be a mistake and embarrassment for the Redmond, Wash. based company to lower the console's price at this time. Removing the Kinect senor isn't an option. Microsoft is clearly pushing the Kinect's motion and voice controls. The Kinect functionality is deeply built into the Xbox One's OS. The only remedy to this problem is to come out with this stripped down version.

The removal of the optical drive should have a positive effect on the Xbox One's outward appearance. The Xbox One has considerably more bulk and heft to it than the svelte PS4. Although the PS4 is smaller, Sony still found room to integrate the power supply into the console itself. The Xbox One has a separate power supply also known as the power brick. 

Another reason why removing the optical drive would do the system good is that it would make the system much more durable. Less moving parts usually corresponds to less things breaking. And with all the headaches that the Xbox One launch caused due to grinding sounds emanating from faulty disc-drives, the lack of one seems nice.

Microsoft has already made smaller changes to the Xbox One. A patch is being prepared that will make the systems graphics 10 percent more powerful. Despite this patch, the Sony PS4 will still produce a more consistent gaming experience. Why? Simply put, the PS4 has better hardware. Among that hardware lies significantly more video memory. Specs are important, but ultimately the quality and variety of games will determine which system wins the console wars.

If you were previously thinking of purchasing a PS4, would the availability of a cheaper Xbox one possibly change your mind? Let me know in the comments section below.