History.
We didn't used to have 1500 dollar iPhones and kids spending a hundred dollars in fortnite. I've seen plenty of people who with their income shouldn't be buying these things but they do in droves.
... And almost certainly Sony banking the cost of all the customization process.
That's some shity reverse physics going on there
Well, a *LOT* has changed, right? Great GPUs were once in the $200-300 range - now they're over $1000. Smart phones weren't a thing in the past - the prices have increased with each year and droves of people buy them yearly.
Very good point although we carry our phones everywhere with us and they do a lot for us in our daily lives. We don't bring our game consoles with us to the store, work, church, etc. They just sit at home in one place, hooked up to the television.
Keep dreaming.
So thats my fear, another Console where the new gimick prevents 60FPS, great, no idea why you think thats not a valid question ?
Too expensive, it needs to be affordable.
people pay 1k for mobile phones this is pocket change
Waaaaay bigger difference, $1000.00 price launch for a console would be hilariously bad, the problem is gamers comparing this to a PC again and again.
Well... 5x that Jaguar is not impressive. Let's hope it's more like 10x faster. 2060 sounds awesome tho.
5x jaguar sounds about right and is more than a 4 core i7 with HT. Keep in mind that's still more than twice the leap from 7th to 8th in the cpu department.
A lot has changed, but the market hasn't. There's still no evidence a $500 (or higher) machine will sell, but plenty that it won't. It's not a money thing; it's the perception of the device. People are buying Ford trucks for $70 grand and (like you said) thousand dollar smartphones, but they don't want to spend over 4 bucks for a gallon of gas or a gallon of milk, which are necessities for living. Consoles are considered toys to most non-enthusiasts, and that's why (imo), they struggle to sell for more money. I collect watches, and to me, it's completely reasonable to buy a watch for 2 grand, but to most people, a few hundred on a watch is excessive, especially when their phone has one built in. I can appreciate the different complications and movements in a watch from an horological perspective, but to most people, it's something you slap on your wrist to tell the time. To most, there's not any value in buying a Sinn over a Timex, and never mind an Omega or a Rolex. Consoles are perceived very much the same way imo, many can appreciate them, but even more don't want to invest much to get involved with one, especially when their phone has access to games on it, which they already own.
I kinda feel like the perception of consoles today is not the same as it was. It has changed over time.
There's some truth to that, but for every guy like me, who has stuck around since the 70s, there are 99 who have moved on from the hobby imo. You're right that the average age has climbed over the last decade to a group with far more disposable income, but when that income is competing with things like cars, savings for college educations, vacations and what have you, you can see that an older audience brings its own set of limitations with it, the most important being the time to play. As I've gotten older I find it getting harder to find the time to play, whereas just a decade ago I'd be up all night playing games.
Your statement alone is exactly why it's an issue. Most of the public doesn't know or care what a Navi or a Vega is. They want to play the next GTA. How much they are willing to pay to do so is the question at hand. You are looking at this strictly through the lens of an enthusiast. You need to look at it from the perspective of someone who doesn't live and breathe this shit. This is the person that determines whether a system is successful or not.
If you believe a phone and a console hold the same mindshare for the average buyer then I don't know what to tell you. The two could not be more different.
Agreed, but I don't know that the change in perception has led us to a place where they can charge more for them. But based on this news from Sony it would appear we are about to find out. It will be exciting to see nonetheless. My issue is that this market relies on a healthy Sony. You can have Microsoft off acting a fool, and Nintendo doing whatever Nintendo does, but Sony is the pacesetter in the industry. If they do something that turns out to be bad for the market it will ripple down and have an effect across a lot of areas. This may sound hyperbolic, but think about it: since 1995 or so, this industry has had a consistent form of leadership in Sony which led to hundreds of millions of consoles being sold each generation. When the PS3 was released it not only hurt Sony, but the market, and it took both a while to recover from it. I sincerely hope they aren't about to do something stupid.
As an enthusiast, what am I supposed to see a console as if not a toy? I sure see it as a toy and use it as such.
Well, honestly, I'm fairly sure that PS5 and the next Xbox (the higher-end model) will use pretty much the same components so I don't imagine there will be a large gap there. Sony was aggressive with PS4 pricing. We'll see what happens.
I think 249 is way too high and I hope it poisons the well for digital-only consoles. I have no interest in a digital-only machine.
