Tqaulity
Member
From the tidbits we've been hearing from both Sony and Microsoft, I'm starting to see a real possibility that Microsoft will undercut Sony in price. It seems almost a given at this point that the PS5 will be more expensive than the PS4 was at launch (>$399). Also, Microsoft is pretty adamant about getting the leg up on Sony for this console launch and we've heard rumors about everything from them undercutting Sony in price to launching the Series X several months early. Most people seem to perceive that the Xbox Series X is offering more from a hardware standpoint since it has a bigger GPU with more TFLOPS and thus will be the more expensive of the two if they were not equal in price. However, when you think about, the PS5 does in fact offer a lot more from a hardware standpoint that adds up in terms of cost. We got a custom cooling solution that is reportedly pretty expensive, ultra fast custom SSD (2x faster), lots of custom hardware for I/O and other features, custom 3D audio hardware, feature packed controller with speakers, microphone, advanced haptic feedback, adaptive triggers, motion senors, LED lighting, touchpad and more (not present on XBSX controller). All of this with a build quality and attention to detail that appears (nobody has seen the PS5 in person yet) to be superior compared to the Series X (the micro PlayStation symbols for the texture on the controller 
) .
We've seen the more expensive systems fair worse at launch in the last two generations. The Xbox One was condemned out of the gate for being priced higher while having lower spec hardware and less features meaningful to the core gamers. The PS3 was also prohibitively expensive and suffered at launch although many could at least see it's value given all that is had to offer (i.e cutting edge tech in Blu-Ray and Cell, Full PS1 and PS2 backwards compatibility, range of multimedia features, and HDMI out of the box). Keeping in mind that Xbox was already well behind this generation, I think a higher price tag would do worse for Microsoft than it would Sony for next gen. Sony has been saying for years that the PS5 is a "premium" console and they have been careful to avoid speaking about price directly and focusing on value. I think they have accepted that the price for their vision is to likely come in higher than PS4 did and they will sacrifice some initial marketshare. That said, they still have the PS4 (and PS4 pro) that will offer a cheaper entry point into PlayStation which they will continue to promote and push for the next few years at least.
My Take: I don't think it would be unreasonable if the PS5 was in fact more expensive than the Series X. I think that will be a big win for Microsoft as they are coming from a position of trailing the PS4 pretty significantly and need to make up ground. I think it will lead to Microsoft gaining some ground initially and make the start of next gen much more competitive. That said, i don't think that Sony will be doomed but they will probably have a slower launch relative to PS4 (and PS2 for that matter). I think Sony is focused more on not bleeding money despite their premium console (a la PS3) and will still push the PS4 and PS4 pro in the foreseeable future as viable alternatives. It would be great if they both were the same price but if one had to be more expensive than the other, I think it's more likely to be the PS5.
What say you guys?
) .We've seen the more expensive systems fair worse at launch in the last two generations. The Xbox One was condemned out of the gate for being priced higher while having lower spec hardware and less features meaningful to the core gamers. The PS3 was also prohibitively expensive and suffered at launch although many could at least see it's value given all that is had to offer (i.e cutting edge tech in Blu-Ray and Cell, Full PS1 and PS2 backwards compatibility, range of multimedia features, and HDMI out of the box). Keeping in mind that Xbox was already well behind this generation, I think a higher price tag would do worse for Microsoft than it would Sony for next gen. Sony has been saying for years that the PS5 is a "premium" console and they have been careful to avoid speaking about price directly and focusing on value. I think they have accepted that the price for their vision is to likely come in higher than PS4 did and they will sacrifice some initial marketshare. That said, they still have the PS4 (and PS4 pro) that will offer a cheaper entry point into PlayStation which they will continue to promote and push for the next few years at least.
My Take: I don't think it would be unreasonable if the PS5 was in fact more expensive than the Series X. I think that will be a big win for Microsoft as they are coming from a position of trailing the PS4 pretty significantly and need to make up ground. I think it will lead to Microsoft gaining some ground initially and make the start of next gen much more competitive. That said, i don't think that Sony will be doomed but they will probably have a slower launch relative to PS4 (and PS2 for that matter). I think Sony is focused more on not bleeding money despite their premium console (a la PS3) and will still push the PS4 and PS4 pro in the foreseeable future as viable alternatives. It would be great if they both were the same price but if one had to be more expensive than the other, I think it's more likely to be the PS5.
What say you guys?
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