With the next-generation of home consoles on the way to players later this year, enthusiasts are always presented with a choice, and in 2020, players choose either thePlayStation 5orXbox Series X. To some, this is an easy answer, others not so much. Every player has their own preferences or values in a home console, and that’s not even taking into account PC players as well. That console choice may become even more ambiguous moving forward
Recent rumors for both theXbox Series XandPlayStation 5mention that each side may have more than one offering for consoles to buy this holiday. Both console makers have had rumors involving a base model and a more expensive, more powerful version allegedly being sold at the same time. It’s an interesting dynamic, one that has pros and cons for both Sony and Microsoft. The choice for the next-generation console may not be as clear-cut as one or the other.
More Than One PS5, Xbox Series X Console
As news, leaks, and rumors have been ramping up for the next console generation, one of the biggest stories was whether or not the PS5 and Xbox Series X would release multiple versions of the next gaming consoles at launch. Most recently a leaker known as VFXVeteran reiterated that bothSony and Microsoft were planning a two-tiered release of the next generation consoles: a base model for the average consumer and a more premium option for enthusiasts. Sony and Microsoft did this in the past generation with the Xbox One X and the PS4 Pro halfway through the current console generation, but how will that operate at the beginning of a generation (assuming these are true).
The Xbox One X and PS4 Pro did see varying degrees of success upon release, but it’s not like the average consumer was coming out in droves to replace their base consoles with the higher power versions. These interlude consoles were enthusiast-geared machines not designed for occasional/infrequent players. Microsoft andSony saw overall mild successwith these consoles because they were sold in limited quantities and that they knew sales demand was not going to be huge midway through the PS4/Xbox One life cycle. This time around, Sony and Microsoft are looking to do something unprecedented in the industry thus far, a release plan that could potentially be very risky.
Consumer-Acceptable Prices Are Hard To Balance
Should this rumor ring true, Sony and Microsoft are likely going to face many questions about offering different versions of the same console. While this concept is no stranger to the tech industry (see: cellphones, laptops, TVs, etc.), the gaming industry is a very different beast. The main issue Sony and Microsoft will have to tackle is justification of theupgraded PS5 and Series X’s price, the most important selling point. Why pay more for a console right out of the gate? Is one console version going to be lacking in comparison? Which is the more definitive version? Am I getting a cheaper and less enjoyable experience if I buy the technologically weaker version? These are just some examples of questions these companies will undoubtedly face.
The psychology of pricing consoles is going to certainly factor into how well these enthusiast-oriented consoles will perform in sales. Early reports stated that that manufacturingcosts were much higher for the PlayStation 5due to a shortage of DRAM and NAND flash memory used in the console’s internal components. According to Bloomberg, due to this shortage the PlayStation 5 manufacturing cost alone was around $450 per unit, which is already $50 higher than the original selling price of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Posing an interesting question, it’s hard to gauge how much money the average consumer is willing to pay for a console. $500 or more is not only more expensive than the previous generation, the $500 price point finds itself at a critical spending limit for many folks. Now imagine attempting to sell a supposed “premium” version of that same console at a price even higher than $500. A similar situation occurred with the initial release of the PS3’s pricing several years ago, a situation eventhe president of Sony described as “horrifying” for the PS3brand. Even if the industry itself can wholly justify and craft perfectly acceptable reasons to spend the money, consumers will still being asking themselves if it’s worth it.
What Are Video Games Worth?
Many consumers on all levels of gaming interest will ask this question, and the answers will vary wildly. A hardcore enthusiast who plays video games daily may answer this question immediately, stating they don’t mind spending extra for the definitive experience of gaming. If an enthusiast can swing the higher price in their budget, they will likely opt in for better performance, higher graphical fidelity, etc.,especially if the initial lineup of games is better than PS4 or Xbox One. Sony and Microsoft will need to gauge how much of each’s consumer base falls into this population, especially at launch.
Average players who may just want to play the games themselves, regardless of performance or fidelity, will likely want to know what they’re missing. This has been an age old questionwhen comparing Xbox and PlayStation together, but this has never been an issue for the brand itself. Same goes from the other side, enthusiasts who get the higher-end machine will want to know what makes it better from the base machine. Is it worth $500? $600? What’s the most appropriate cutoff in terms of cost vs. performance? Attempting to strike this balance on release is going to cause a proper amount of controversy early on, and for good reason.
Microsoft and Sony likely have contingency plans if these rumors of a tiered console release are true. It’ll be interesting to see these companies respond to these questions, and how they justify multiple hardware iterations in a section of the tech industry that has traditionally never seen this before on such a large scale.
PlayStation 5andXbox Series Xare slated for release Holiday 2020.
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