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Next-Gen Pricing: What Do YOU Think The Xone and PS4 Will Cost?


On 06/04/2013 at 11:18 AM by gigantor21

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So Sage Pachter of Wedbush, the Nostradamus who said we wouldn't get any next gen consoles and that third parties wouldn't want them anyway, has put out his price expectations for those next gen consoles. He expects much cheaper launch prices than this gen, with the Xone at $400 and the PS4 at $350.

LOL.

The PS4 is launching with 8GB of DDR5 RAM, and a GPU that matches $200 video cards built as part of an custom hybrid processor that AMD doesn't even sell. The Xone, meanwhile, is using similar technology with cheaper RAM, but each one is going to be launching with the new Kinect 2.0 and 500GB of storage. The 360 Kinect Bundles with a pitiful 4GB of storage are still going for $300; Kinect 1.0 costs $99 alone.

The only way this can possibly happen is if both companies eat a MASSIVE loss on the console. That's why I'm sure it's not likely; it took Sony 4 years to even start seeing profits on the PS3, 3 years for the Xbox 360, and both saw billions of dollars in losses on those consoles in the meantime. Sony is in no position to do that again, seeing as they've had to sell company property and stakes in other businesses just to shore up their finances recently.

My estimates for console pricing come Christmastime:

Xone - $500
PS4 - $450
360/PS3/Vita - $50 price cut for all SKUs
Wii U - Basic discontinued; Premium model at no more than $300
3DS - We MIGHT see a price cut, but I think bundles are much more likely

What do you think?


 

Comments

Homelessrook

06/04/2013 at 12:22 PM

Honestly, I do not see why they do not put a TB drive in them both. 500gig just seems kinda small, especially if they really try to push the digital game copies. That is just my opinion.

Now as for the Vita, I think it was well worth the $300 I paid for my WiFi/3G instant collection pack. Granted the data packages are lame and right now the games are few and far between. I hope after E3 and the New Batman, Ys, Killzone come out the sales will pick up. A price drop would not hurt though. Also they should have done SD cards instead of the system proprietary storage.

I agree with the Wii U basic. That model should have never hit the market. I think Nintendo could have focused that money on one system and had bigger storage at a cheaper price.

gigantor21

06/04/2013 at 06:54 PM

I'd bet money they didn't use SD cards because they didn't want to A) help facilitate the rampant modding, hacking and piracy the PSP dealt with, or B) piss off retailers by making it easier for people to avoid buying stuff at retail. I suspect it didn't have built in memory (like any other mobile device does nowadays?) for the same reason. The whole thing is built around a 2005 mindset that doesn't exist anymore.

The fact that the Xone has such a small drive when they expect people to install ALL their retail games onto it is ludicrous. Especially when it can't be easily swapped out, like the PS3. Having to hook up external drives to accomodate more downloads crimps the whole "one box to rule them all" marketing.

Agreed 100% on the Basic. Frankly, 32GB is too low even at $300 IMO. The absolute minimum should be the 160GB in the PS3 slim, with the option to replace it with something bigger as needed. And that's only because you don't have to install your retail disc games.

Homelessrook

06/04/2013 at 07:51 PM

Yea, I can see the point, but 100 bucks for 32gig is just a little much.

On the Nintendo, sure 160 would be good for me.

gigantor21

06/04/2013 at 11:28 PM

It seriously is. I can't believe that was actually an official price, especially in a device with no built in memory. It's no wonder it's been selling so shittily.

goaztecs

06/04/2013 at 12:33 PM

I think both the XBox and PS4 are going to be around $500 each. Both companies know the early adopters will pay almost anything for the lastest and greatest. I think both will have a price drop a year or two after launch, to get the folks like myself away from the PS3.

gigantor21

06/04/2013 at 06:56 PM

That's the highest possible price they'll be able to get away with, I think, especially when neither is going to be backwards compatible. Which is an important factor for early adopters whether Don Mattrick thinks it's "backwards thinking" or not. -_-

Super Step Contributing Writer

06/04/2013 at 05:32 PM

Yeah, $400+ is my expectation.

gigantor21

06/04/2013 at 06:55 PM

Anything lower than that is just pie-in-the-sky wishful thinking IMO. This stuff won't come cheap.

Coolsetzer

06/05/2013 at 07:31 PM

$499 sounds about right for premium models. For existing consoles, I don't think there will be a price cut right away. Maybe after a year or two. Microsoft is notorious on their prices for custom memory, and Sony for accessories. It will be expensive for sure. I think Gamestop was taking preorders when the PS4 was announced. They quoted $500 if I remember right, and were going to issue refunds for those who overpaid. 

gigantor21

06/06/2013 at 08:38 AM

I don't get why Pachter magically thinks that all the technology and services they're pushing are going to come so cheap. I'd love for the consoles to be that cheap, but it's simply not happening--they need to be a big step over current gen stuff and last for years.

And I'm sure they'll be cutting current-gen stuff this year. They still have to sell those consoles and the games for them for a while, especially when the next-gen consoles won't be backwards compatible. Considering how much sales have been dropping, they need another price cut to boost things.

Temperance

06/08/2013 at 02:29 AM

At this point in time, consumers want more and more content for less and less money.  Having two new consoles available at $400+ with limited software libraries is a disaster waiting to happen.  Yes, the Christmas rush will sell units; it always does.  But, without backwards compatibility available on either unit, there is a good possibility many more shoppers will go with the cheaper consoles with the cheaper games.  The situation is so different than what it was in 2005 and 2006, and I'm also concerned that the new systems, especially the X1, will be far too complicated for most consumers (how is MS going to explain the daily online check and its "advantage" to consumers?).

Anyway, I think a price point between $400 and $500 is fair for both consoles (I wouldn't pay that much, though).  Both MS and Sony know what people are spending on the various devices and tablets out in the market, and they want their cut.  Whether or not they get it is a different story, though.

gigantor21

06/10/2013 at 02:53 PM

Clearly MS didn't get the memo on affordability. Did you see the press conference? Ugh.

Temperance

06/10/2013 at 05:10 PM

I saw enough to see the price announcement.  I guess MS wants to try and get their cut after all, even though the market for a console of that price is incredibly limited.  I'm sure they'll move a few units to collectors and first adopters, but I don't see the mass market buying into it.  I mean, by the time you add in a game and taxes, you're pushing $600!  That's a bit much.

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