Sony Is Struggling With PlayStation 5 Price Due to Costly Parts

[DukenukemX]

You say that, but entire families of people that have a collective income less than 40k all have $1200 phones. All Sony has to do is figure out financing with interest and those that celebrate debt would be all over it.

You can't assume that because people buy $1200 phones that they'll spend more on a game console. Also a phone is a necessity today while a game console isn't. A game console can't print documents, it can't check your email, it can't do anything but play games.

https://bgr.com/2020/02/28/ps5-price-range-500-not-enough-should-be-more-expensive/amp/


In a recent thread on Reddit titled simply “Unpopular opinion,” a user made an interesting claim. “I’d rather have a powerful system at launch costing around let’s say $600 and lasting me the whole generation than a weaker one for a lower price and then having them launch a ‘pro version’ because the weaker system didn’t age well,” he or she wrote.

Well, it turned out that opinion wasn’t unpopular at all. The PS5 subreddit doesn’t get much traffic these days, but hundreds of people still popped up to up-vote the post and add comments

A PS5 subreddit is going to be biased, and again you're assuming a lot here. Just because a PS5 is made more powerful doesn't mean it'll last the whole generation. Performance is relative and depending on what AMD/Intel/Nvidia produces afterwards will depend how long console performance will last before it looks dated.

I agree that 600 is too high, but I'm not so sure about the economy crashing. It could if Carona is really bad, but I don't think we can draw conclusions about the stock market.

The stock market was overvalued for a while now and I've predicted this event to occur for sometime. The Corona Virus is the catalyst to this situation, and not the sole reason for it. Since September of 2019 the repo market crashed and the federal reserve printed $4 Trillion and still continues to do so today. Economies all over the world are failing especially Japan. The way I see it if the stock market goes bellow 24k then we're officially in market correction mode. If not then this is a temporary event.

The market isn't the economy.

I agree but in most cases when the stock value drops then one of the actions companies do is downsize and fire employee's.

And it's going down because it was priced for perfection and now we have a big unkown with Corona. The good news is even if it drops 20%, most shares you own (unless you bought everything last year) will still be in the black.. Now if this turns into 2008, it's going to be awful, because the fed has far fewer tools than they had in 2008. I hope it's not that bad, because if it is, it probalby means 3 million people are going to die.. Ah WTH, buy a console (from the web) and play games, because you don't want to go outside with all those sick people roaming the streats

Less disposable cash means people will horde their PS4's, Xbox One's, and old PC's. Due to lowered manufacturing output, the price of PC hardware is likely going up, and this will have an effect on the price of the PS5 and Xbox Series X. 2020 was a bad year for Sony and Microsoft to release their new consoles.

We live in the world of $400 "mid-range" video cards now. Somebody run the inflation numbers on console releases? I bet $600 is nothing these days when it comes to purchasing power.

You live in a world where $400 "mid-range" video cards exist, but the rest of the world still depends on $250 or less graphic cards for gaming. According to the Steam Hardware Survey the most used gaming graphic cards are still the GTX 1060, 1050Ti, 1050, and even the GTX 970. Not the RTX 2060, 2070, or even the RX 5700 and 5700 XT. That's just a fact jack.

 

[nilepez]

You can't assume that because people buy $1200 phones that they'll spend more on a game console. Also a phone is a necessity today while a game console isn't. A game console can't print documents, it can't check your email, it can't do anything but play games.

Yup and I'm going to bet that most iPhones sold are not the $1200 models

The stock market was overvalued for a while now and I've predicted this event to occur for sometime. The Corona Virus is the catalyst to this situation, and not the sole reason for it. Since September of 2019 the repo market crashed and the federal reserve printed $4 Trillion and still continues to do so today. Economies all over the world are failing especially Japan. The way I see it if the stock market goes bellow 24k then we're officially in market correction mode. If not then this is a temporary event.

Technically bear market = below 23654 (80% of the recent high). We'll see what happens. I'm cautious about labeling it, but I will not be surprised if we go down that far and I'd expect it to last, mostly because the uncertainty will remain until late in the year, even if the virus goes away over the summer, because it could easily return in the fall/winter

I agree but in most cases when the stock value drops then one of the actions companies do is downsize and fire employee's.

I think that only happens if the consumer stops buying (which is certainly a possibility. I know I have no desire to hop on a plane right now, but I still go to movies go shopping. But once it hits here, then I will probably start altering behaviour. As it is I've actually bought hand sanitizer, which I've never done before, for when I'm out and about. It'll be interesting to see what the futures look like in a few hours. My gut says down, but I have no idea. Nevertheless, I'm not selling anything...also not buying anything.

On the plus side, lower sales are probably good, since Corona will likely reduce the number of units manufactured (always look on the bright side of life <whistle> )

 

[coynatha]

You live in a world where $400 "mid-range" video cards exist, but the rest of the world still depends on $250 or less graphic cards for gaming. According to the Steam Hardware Survey the most used gaming graphic cards are still the GTX 1060, 1050Ti, 1050, and even the GTX 970. Not the RTX 2060, 2070, or even the RX 5700 and 5700 XT. That's just a fact jack.

The $400 the PS4 cost would cost nearly $450 today. "mid-range" video cards were more like $200 back then.

Galaxy S4 was like $150 in 2013. S20 coming out is $1000.

You think Sony is only going to raise the price another $50-$100 for the PS5 launch? I wouldn't be shocked at all to see it at $800.

 

[cybereality]

Rumor of 2 SKUs for PS5, a base and Pro model releasing this year.

https://www.tweaktown.com/news/70933/report-playstation-5-pro-and-base-coming-in-2020/index.html

 

[DukenukemX]

The $400 the PS4 cost would cost nearly $450 today. "mid-range" video cards were more like $200 back then.

Ah yes, inflation. If wages are stagnate and people have more debt than ever, then $50 could be a deter it.

Galaxy S4 was like $150 in 2013. S20 coming out is $1000.

Calling it a Galaxy phone doesn't mean that's the same phone. Just like a GTX 960 was $200, then the GTX 1060 was $250, and now the RTX 2060 was $350 and now $300. The sales tell a different story as the RTX 2060 doesn't sell as well as the GTX 1060 despite being a *60 name. How are the sales of $1k phones vs sub $200 phones?

You think Sony is only going to raise the price another $50-$100 for the PS5 launch? I wouldn't be shocked at all to see it at $800.

At $800 you might as well buy a PC. Not build one, because at $800 you might as well buy a prebuilt. History has shown that the most expensive console is usually the loser, not the winner. Sega Saturn was $400 while the Playstation 1 was $300 and the N64 $200. Xbox and PS2 were $300, while GameCube was $200. PS3 $500, 360 $400, and the Wii was $250. Xbox One $500, PS4 $400, and WiiU was $300. Should also mention the Switch was $300 as well. The Saturn, Xbox, and PS3 were arguably the most powerful consoles of their generation and they all cost the most and did poorly in sales. The Xbox One was the exception where it cost the most and was the slowest of its generation, which goes to show that Microsoft is run by out of touch retards. If the PS5 was even at $700 then Sony is committing financial suicide.

 

[DukenukemX]

I think that only happens if the consumer stops buying (which is certainly a possibility. I know I have no desire to hop on a plane right now, but I still go to movies go shopping. But once it hits here, then I will probably start altering behaviour. As it is I've actually bought hand sanitizer, which I've never done before, for when I'm out and about. It'll be interesting to see what the futures look like in a few hours. My gut says down, but I have no idea. Nevertheless, I'm not selling anything...also not buying anything.

On the plus side, lower sales are probably good, since Corona will likely reduce the number of units manufactured (always look on the bright side of life <whistle> )

I also think Bernie Sanders has an effect on the stock market, as he's polling well and he plans to make corporations pay taxes. A lot of tax returns and not paying taxes has saved corporations money and they used it to buy back stocks. Joe Biden recently won South Carolina and this might boost stocks a bit on Monday, but Sanders is expected to win most states this super Tuesday and that might tumble stocks even further.

As for how this effects the PS5 and Xbox Series X will depend on how things change later this year. Could be nothing and stocks increase as the Chinese go back to work and make our crap. This could trigger a domino effect where everyone stops buying certain things and causes job losses. Could be a slow recovery that might make it in time for the Holiday season of 2020. Might be that we've been in a recession since 2008 and now we're evolving into a depression. Either way an expensive PS5 may not be a wise choice, but that maybe solved with a PS5 and PS5 Pro, where the Pro is the console that Sony is tooting about.

 

[Flogger23m]

The Xbox One was the exception where it cost the most and was the slowest of its generation, which goes to show that Microsoft is run by out of touch retards.

Indeed. Bit off topic, but the 360 is really the only massively successful consumer product Microsoft ever did. The PS3 CPU and Sony's arrogance did the rest even discounting the higher price. They did end up neck and neck, but Microsoft went back to their usual self for the One.

I assume Sony is keeping this all in mind for the PS5.

 

[DukenukemX]

Indeed. Bit off topic, but the 360 is really the only massively successful consumer product Microsoft ever did. The PS3 CPU and Sony's arrogance did the rest even discounting the higher price. They did end up neck and neck, but Microsoft went back to their usual self for the One.

Sony's arrogance for the PS3 was how confident they were about the Cell CPU, which I think was going to be partially a GPU as well. Microsoft doing what they did before with the Xbox, continued to use PC hardware to power their console and Sony was taken back and delayed the PS3 launch to add a PC GPU from Nvidia. Doesn't matter anyway because the Wii handed both Microsoft and Sony their asses as not only did the console sell extremely well but so did the games as you'll find some of the best selling games of all time are from the Wii.

I assume Sony is keeping this all in mind for the PS5.

You'd think but that's not what Sony is thinking right now. Sony's worried about PC gaming, to the point where they thought about porting Horizon Zero Dawn to PC, assuming the rumors are true. The excessive hardware found in the PS5 is not because Sony wants it to last 7 years or because of Microsoft's Xbox, but because Sony wants to take market share away from PC gaming. To do this Sony is putting some impressive hardware in the PS5, but it may get to the point where the cost of the console may reach PC gaming territory where it may devalue the PS5. What's a better buy, a pre-built PC that can print documents, surf the web for porn, and do office work, or a PS5 that does gaming? You don't want the PS5 to compete against that because it'll lose.

 

[cybereality]

But if they come out with 2 SKUs (and Xbox doesn't) then they can have the cheaper and most powerful console at the same time. Best of both worlds maybe.

 

[Derangel]

Sony's arrogance for the PS3 was how confident they were about the Cell CPU, which I think was going to be partially a GPU as well. Microsoft doing what they did before with the Xbox, continued to use PC hardware to power their console and Sony was taken back and delayed the PS3 launch to add a PC GPU from Nvidia. Doesn't matter anyway because the Wii handed both Microsoft and Sony their asses as not only did the console sell extremely well but so did the games as you'll find some of the best selling games of all time are from the Wii.

You'd think but that's not what Sony is thinking right now. Sony's worried about PC gaming, to the point where they thought about porting Horizon Zero Dawn to PC, assuming the rumors are true. The excessive hardware found in the PS5 is not because Sony wants it to last 7 years or because of Microsoft's Xbox, but because Sony wants to take market share away from PC gaming. To do this Sony is putting some impressive hardware in the PS5, but it may get to the point where the cost of the console may reach PC gaming territory where it may devalue the PS5. What's a better buy, a pre-built PC that can print documents, surf the web for porn, and do office work, or a PS5 that does gaming? You don't want the PS5 to compete against that because it'll lose.

No one is worried about the PC. Sony wouldn't be porting Horizon to the PC (assuming they are, which does seem likely) if they thought the PC was a threat to their console business. Nor would they have allowed KojiPro to port Death Stranding to the PC if they saw it as a threat. If Sony thought the PC was a threat they would be gung-ho on keeping everything they could away from it. You don't give your popular games to a platform you think is a threat to your primary business, you try to extinguish that platform.

 

[vegeta535]

I still do not believe Sony is porting their 1st party games to PC. Not going to believe it til it comes from Sony's mouth.

 

[Derangel]

I still do not believe Sony is porting their 1st party games to PC. Not going to believe it til it comes from Sony's mouth.

The Amazon France listing does lend some credence to the rumor but, yeah, I'm not going to go beyond "looks likely" until something more concrete happens. Like maybe it gets an official rating from from some international ratings board or pops up in the SteamDB.

 

[DukenukemX]

No one is worried about the PC. Sony wouldn't be porting Horizon to the PC (assuming they are, which does seem likely) if they thought the PC was a threat to their console business. Nor would they have allowed KojiPro to port Death Stranding to the PC if they saw it as a threat. If Sony thought the PC was a threat they would be gung-ho on keeping everything they could away from it. You don't give your popular games to a platform you think is a threat to your primary business, you try to extinguish that platform.

PC is a complicated platform because it's neutral. Nobody owns it, not Gabe Newell or Tim Sweeney. But Microsoft finally woke up and realized that most games on PC run on Microsoft Windows, so they want to make PC gaming synonymous with Xbox after the failure that is the Xbox One. Considering PC gaming has 1/3 of the gaming market, this could put Xbox ahead of the Playstation in terms of market share, assuming Microsoft somehow succeeds in getting PC developers to put their games onto the Microsoft app store. Sony could be looking to absorb some of the PC gaming market by also porting their games onto PC. Sony can also embrace, extend, and extinguish just as much as Microsoft can. If Horizon does get ported to PC, you can bet there's going to be a Sony app/launcher that doesn't depend on Steam/Epic/Origin to play the game.

 

[Armenius]

We live in the world of $400 "mid-range" video cards now. Somebody run the inflation numbers on console releases? I bet $600 is nothing these days when it comes to purchasing power.

*edit*

I never even sniffed at Xbox/PS3/PS4 because I could easily put that money into a video card on a 5 year old PC and have a better gaming experience. (esp with the vast Steam library already collected)

The original $299 PlayStation would be around $500 US today. At the time people thought that price was outrageous when we had $150-$200 consoles that were also coming with games and *gasp* 2 controllers.

 

[vegeta535]

PC is a complicated platform because it's neutral. Nobody owns it, not Gabe Newell or Tim Sweeney. But Microsoft finally woke up and realized that most games on PC run on Microsoft Windows, so they want to make PC gaming synonymous with Xbox after the failure that is the Xbox One. Considering PC gaming has 1/3 of the gaming market, this could put Xbox ahead of the Playstation in terms of market share, assuming Microsoft somehow succeeds in getting PC developers to put their games onto the Microsoft app store. Sony could be looking to absorb some of the PC gaming market by also porting their games onto PC. Sony can also embrace, extend, and extinguish just as much as Microsoft can. If Horizon does get ported to PC, you can bet there's going to be a Sony app/launcher that doesn't depend on Steam/Epic/Origin to play the game.

And people will bitch about yet another launcher.

 

[sfsuphysics]

We live in the world of $400 "mid-range" video cards now. Somebody run the inflation numbers on console releases? I bet $600 is nothing these days when it comes to purchasing power.

$400 PS4 translates to $442 in today's dollars, going to ignore the PS3 because they went with in house custom chip for that thing, bluray when bluray was super fucking expensive $600 at launch was apeshit crazy, the $300 PS2 in 2000 translates to $450 today, so yeah $600 for a console is kind of on the high side.

 

[rudy]

MS will sell their console at a loss just to fuck with Sony. If they don't, it would be extremely foolish of them since Sony doesn't have even close to the same revenue and profits as MS.

In theory this works, but in practice if they do that the shareholders lose their shit and file a lawsuit and want them to spin off the console business. The irony is that yes, now days MS is wealthy enough to to completely hands down win a generation through low pricing alone. But they wont do this due to being a public company.

 

[DukenukemX]

$400 PS4 translates to $442 in today's dollars, going to ignore the PS3 because they went with in house custom chip for that thing, bluray when bluray was super fucking expensive $600 at launch was apeshit crazy, the $300 PS2 in 2000 translates to $450 today, so yeah $600 for a console is kind of on the high side.

Keep in mind that inflation doesn't work linear and doesn't work for everything. I remember getting a Pentium @90Mhz that was $1,500 and that wasn't the most powerful PC available at the time. Today a very powerful PC can be had for much less. Same goes for airlines as the cost of flying has decreased since the 70's. A $60 game today is still the same $60 price from 2006.

 

[chameleoneel]

We live in the world of $400 "mid-range" video cards now. Somebody run the inflation numbers on console releases? I bet $600 is nothing these days when it comes to purchasing power.

*edit*

I never even sniffed at Xbox/PS3/PS4 because I could easily put that money into a video card on a 5 year old PC and have a better gaming experience. (esp with the vast Steam library already collected)

Again, talk like this about inflation is tunnel vision on a singular aspect: The relative cost of a good for purchase. Talk like this does not account of anything else such as------rent prices which far outpace wages. Average cost for a house has skyrocketed in the popular states. Taxes and fees on houses and property, which have also spiked in those states. Medical costs which far outpace wages. Cost of education, which has ran far away from wages.

The average American's ability to spend outside of necessity and function, is near an all time low.

 

[nilepez]

I also think Bernie Sanders has an effect on the stock market, as he's polling well and he plans to make corporations pay taxes. A lot of tax returns and not paying taxes has saved corporations money and they used it to buy back stocks. Joe Biden recently won South Carolina and this might boost stocks a bit on Monday, but Sanders is expected to win most states this super Tuesday and that might tumble stocks even further.

Possibly. I'm liberal, but not a Sanderite, but I'm also not terribly worried about him, because it'd be very hard for him to get most of his domestic policies passed and I don't anticipate Dems caving to a non-dem...now in 10 years, when Millennials will likely rule the roost, he would be able to accomplish virtually all of his policies (assuming Gen Y still supports those policies, and I suspect they will)

That said, I would expect a downturn if he wins, but frankly at some point we're bound to have a recession (unless the USA is the new Australia). I'm shocked it hasn't happened yet.
But what do I know. I was sure we'd see a downturn today and instead the market goes up 4% (though tomorrow it currently looks like we'll be down 1% at the bell.

As for how this effects the PS5 and Xbox Series X will depend on how things change later this year. Could be nothing and stocks increase as the Chinese go back to work and make our crap. This could trigger a domino effect where everyone stops buying certain things and causes job losses. Could be a slow recovery that might make it in time for the Holiday season of 2020. Might be that we've been in a recession since 2008 and now we're evolving into a depression. Either way an expensive PS5 may not be a wise choice, but that maybe solved with a PS5 and PS5 Pro, where the Pro is the console that Sony is tooting about.

I agree we don't know what's going to happen. Corona could cause people to stay home, not go to stores, avoid movies, bars, bowling allies, skating rinks, malls and planes. All of that could trigger a recession, but it may not happen. I know despite the big rise in the market today, I'm sitting tight and waiting for some clarity.

But no matter what, i don't' see 700 dollars causing people to jump on a new console. Just seems insanely expensive....but while I have an XBone, I'm not a big console gamer and am thinking of selling it soon (before the price drops through the floor.

 

[seanreisk]

If Sony wants to compete on price they should surprise Microsoft with a 'strip' version. Plain brown box with something funny written on it, no free game, one inexpensive controller, no hard drive. Maybe even no video cables. Let the savvy people buy the peripherals and the drive size that they want. If the price is near or below the XBox price, but the CPU, GPU and titles are better, I bet Sony would have a seller.

 

[Marees]

Rumor of 2 SKUs for PS5, a base and Pro model releasing this year.

https://www.tweaktown.com/news/70933/report-playstation-5-pro-and-base-coming-in-2020/index.html

Microsoft's strategy of *Building a cheaper "next-gen" console with 1080p gamers in mind* makes far more sense than Sony's rumored approach of *building two "higher-end" consoles*, but again, who knows?

https://www.windowscentral.com/late...5-pro-alongside-xbox-series-x-lockhart-rumors

 

[Darunion]

If Sony wants to compete on price they should surprise Microsoft with a 'strip' version. Plain brown box with something funny written on it, no free game, one inexpensive controller, no hard drive. Maybe even no video cables. Let the savvy people buy the peripherals and the drive size that they want. If the price is near or below the XBox price, but the CPU, GPU and titles are better, I bet Sony would have a seller.

You give console gamers too much credit. I at least encountered a ton of people struggling with the xbox 360 when they shipped the memory card version which could only hold i think 1 game in storage. People in general don't want to go back to the store or amazon after getting their console to get more parts to finish building it. Otherwise they would be pc gamers

 

[Flogger23m]

You give console gamers too much credit. I at least encountered a ton of people struggling with the xbox 360 when they shipped the memory card version which could only hold i think 1 game in storage. People in general don't want to go back to the store or amazon after getting their console to get more parts to finish building it. Otherwise they would be pc gamers

Indeed, plus a cheaper controller is a no go. Controllers are central to a console experience, and cheaping out on one is not a good idea. Yes you can get aftermarket ones, but the majority use the out of the box controller. Plus adding two different models means less volume per each which means higher per unit cost. You'd have to wonder how much they would actually save by designing and manufacturing two units.

Only thing they can really do is more storage space or less storage space like in the past. They can do a "Pro" version but I think at launch that wouldn't be wise. Much better to help boost sales and make people buy another console 3 years into the cycle. Plus, supply for the first 3 or so months will be spotty as is. Consoles always sell out as is during launch and takes a few months for consistent stock to be stabilized.

 

[seanreisk]

Perhaps I'm only speaking for myself. Every time I've owned a console I've replaced the controllers with different ones (wireless, or vibrating, or aftermarket ones better suited for my hands). And I have five of every type of cable in a drawer in my filing cabinet. If they offered me a simple stripped down kit, that's the one I'd take.

 

[Armenius]

Again, talk like this about inflation is tunnel vision on a singular aspect: The relative cost of a good for purchase. Talk like this does not account of anything else such as------rent prices which far outpace wages. Average cost for a house has skyrocketed in the popular states. Taxes and fees on houses and property, which have also spiked in those states. Medical costs which far outpace wages. Cost of education, which has ran far away from wages.

The average American's ability to spend outside of necessity and function, is near an all time low.

I can't find a more recent study, but spending on entertainment goods and services is trending to an all-time high after bottoming out in 2013. The percentage of income spent on entertainments has actually remained pretty flat over the past 90 years or so at around 5.5% across income groups. This chart is from the most recent low point of 2013, and you can see that the income percentage spent remains about the same overall.

So the data says the opposite. Do you have any sources that peoples' ability "to spend outside of necessity and function" is near an all time low?

 

[Marees]

Rumor of 2 SKUs for PS5, a base and Pro model releasing this year.

https://www.tweaktown.com/news/70933/report-playstation-5-pro-and-base-coming-in-2020/index.html

Looks like Sony is going all in with a single PS5 launch. If it was true that their initial target was 8-9 teraflops & they were forced to crank it up to match XboxX's 12 teraflops then the launch price of the PS5 could be close to $500

 

[Armenius]

People are really kidding themselves with price expectations. I predicted $600 for the Series X initially, but now I'm thinking it may be higher than that. Sony's last second effort at catch up with Microsoft may push the PS5 up to the $600 mark. The only question is, who is going to choose to be the bigger loss leader for this upcoming generation. By all metrics it may be Microsoft since their sales lagged hard this generation.

 

[vegeta535]

People are really kidding themselves with price expectations. I predicted $600 for the Series X initially, but now I'm thinking it may be higher than that. Sony's last second effort at catch up with Microsoft may push the PS5 up to the $600 mark. The only question is, who is going to choose to be the bigger loss leader for this upcoming generation. By all metrics it may be Microsoft since their sales lagged hard this generation.

They are probably waiting for Sony to release a price before they make a commitment. I bet MS is willing to take the hit by matching Sony's price. Be it $500 or $600. MS going to do what it takes to win the generation. MS knows Sony can't eat the cost like MS can.

 

[Derangel]

People are really kidding themselves with price expectations. I predicted $600 for the Series X initially, but now I'm thinking it may be higher than that. Sony's last second effort at catch up with Microsoft may push the PS5 up to the $600 mark. The only question is, who is going to choose to be the bigger loss leader for this upcoming generation. By all metrics it may be Microsoft since their sales lagged hard this generation.

You seriously think over $600 is going to fly with the way the economy is going right now?

 

[zamardii12]

People are really kidding themselves with price expectations. I predicted $600 for the Series X initially, but now I'm thinking it may be higher than that. Sony's last second effort at catch up with Microsoft may push the PS5 up to the $600 mark. The only question is, who is going to choose to be the bigger loss leader for this upcoming generation. By all metrics it may be Microsoft since their sales lagged hard this generation.

I haven't paid $600 for a console since the original PS3. I am leaning more towards $500. I think if they released the consoles right now they'd be $600, but releasing at the end of the year or perhaps pushing it back depending on the virus and the way the economy reacts could lower the price to the $500 price point. I am still betting on $500 especially considering Xbox got away with it selling the One X at that cost.

Also I heard rumors of a lower-cost Xbox Series X possibly called the Series S. So maybe the Series X is $600 but the Series S would be $500? Not sure what differences would be in the other... maybe a model without the Blu Ray drive?

 

[Marees]

Also I heard rumors of a lower-cost Xbox Series X possibly called the Series S. So maybe the Series X is $600 but the Series S would be $500? Not sure what differences would be in the other... maybe a model without the Blu Ray drive?

The series S is expected to have 1/3rd the GPU power (& slightly reduced memory) when compared to series X. All else being same

It is expected to replace current XB1X that sells for ~$250-$300. So that is the expected launch price for the series S

 

[Derangel]

The series S is expected to have 1/3rd the GPU power (& slightly reduced memory) when compared to series X. All else being same

It is expected to replace current XB1X that sells for ~$250-$300. So that is the expected launch price for the series S

I'm not entirely sure why they'd release such a ridiculously weak second option. Outside of it being a streaming only box or something. It would SEVERELY hamper games and that much of a performance difference would create hell for developers going forward.

 

[mls1995]

It was $599 I believe for the 60GB model.
It was also the cheapest BluRay player when it came out so that is one reason it sold so well.

The best way to get the lowest price on the PS3 at the time was to sign up for the Sony Visa card and use that to buy the PS3 as they gave you either a $200 or $250 statement credit after spending $500 within 90 days.
I told my friend about that deal and that is how he got his.

just checked, it was a $150 credit when you bought the PS3 with the Sony Playstation Visa card which made the PS3 $250. (PS3 was $399 at the time of this promotion)

You have some memory! I did that same deal for the PS3, mainly to get a BR player.

 

[Flogger23m]

It isn't going to be $600 unless there is a cheaper option. I'm not seeing a lower end "Series S" coming out the same time at launch though, for a number of reasons. Marketing, production (they can never get enough hardware on shelves during release as is) and it hurts the double dipping of a mid cycle refresh. The only option I can see is a smaller drive, but I assume what they announced already is the base line (lowest end). I can see a $600 model with an SSD twice as big, 2TB. 1TB SSDs are around $100 so it seems reasonable. But that is it really.

 

[defaultluser]

$600 would be a stretch and anything higher would be dead in the water. I think $499 is where we will land, hard to say though.

Yeah, with almost the same performance and storage/ram size, they really cant launch either one for less than $500. With no Xbox price or performance advantage, I expect to see the same sales split as last gen.

 

[Zepher]

Just realized that the last console I bought was the Xbox 360 Elite from Dell back in 2008 almost 12 years ago. Time is really flying, as 2008 doesn't sound that long ago, lol.

 

[rudy]

The PS3 was still underpriced at $500/$600. It should have costed over $700. Sony lost money on every console and it nearly bankrupted them. It was the console that got Kaz Hizarai fired. It was a massive Pyrrhic victory. Sony's gaming division literally almost sunk the entire company. They learned a lot of lessons from that. A) people aren't willing to pay just any price. And B) selling consoles that lose money is a losing strategy.



The one that sold the most is the iPhone XR and then the 11. Most people are not buying $1000 phones despite your fantasy. Most people aren't buying $600 consoles. Most people aren't even buying $300 consoles. You still haven't addressed how one item is viewed as a necessity of life with nearly 100% market penetration (as in, virtually everyone owns a cellphone of some variety) whereas a Playstation is a gaming device that only a fraction of gamers own, not even 100% of that particular market.

It's entirely different markets. Even if phones costed $5000 and people bought them, it wouldn't prove that the market would bear $600 game consoles. I might as well say: Mercedes Benz sells cars for $100k, so people can afford a $1000 console. Those two markets DO NOT RELATE AT ALL.

People will buy consoles at any price the question is more if they go for a price too high will Microsoft undercut them and win this generation.

 

[thelead]

At this rate, these consoles will most likely be delayed.

 

[UnknownSouljer]

People will buy consoles at any price the question is more if they go for a price too high will Microsoft undercut them and win this generation.

You have zero economic backing for that assertion. But more to the point, and to be obtuse, they should just charge $5000 a console then and get 10x markup.
Everyone knows, including you and despite your assertion, that there is a limit. "Any price", how about a million dollars each? What we're discussing is what is the level that people are willing to spend. $500 is too much for anyone other than early adopters. Most won't spend more than $300-$400.
If the cost didn't matter, then what Microsoft does wouldn't matter either.