In a bid to entice European gamers to put their money down on an Xbox One and pre-order the system before it launches this November, Microsoft is offering up a free copy of FIFA 14.

Saying how “that’s a robust promotion” to GameSpot when asked about the difference the offer could make at Christmas, Fergal Gara, VP & Managing Director at SCE UK and Ireland, turned the tables and talked about the PlayStation 4’s success so far:

We are not seeking to accelerate our pre-orders any further, to be honest. [PS4 pre-orders] are breathtakingly high as they are right now. We do not have a pre-order problem. We will remain focused on value, and there’s lots we can do around launch to make gamers feel looked after in a PS4 world.

Getting back on point, Gara echoed DR’s thoughts on how “you can buy a PS4 plus FIFA 14 at full whack for less, as I would understand it, than a free FIFA 14 with an Xbox One. We will continue to focus on great value for the gamer. There’s loads of instances on how that’s real today, whether that be the price of the PS4, or the fantastic content proposition that goes with PlayStation Plus.”

That “PS4 world” Gara mentioned above will begin on November 15th in the US and Canada before expanding to many other countries, including the UK, on November 29th. While he’s already discussed the UK representing a large portion of PS4 pre-orders already, Fergal continued that thought with GI.Biz, adding how “we’re talking unprecedented levels of pre-orders that we haven’t seen in 20 years in this business.”

Addressing Andrew House’s remarks about Microsoft during the gamescom Press Conference, Gara said, “Well, it’s a competitive market you know. We’re all competitive animals. We all come to work to do the best job we can by our gamers, but there is a part of that job that is about winning versus the competition. It’s nice to feel you’re ahead, it’s nice to feel that we’ve got a lot going for us, and of course Andy chose to put bit of a dig in there. All’s fair in love and war!”

Was your breath taken away when you learned that the PS4 was already over a million pre-orders? Let us know in the comments below.

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