lololol. Yeah MS spent the last 9 months promoting the series x along with the years of R&D into a console that's 'not that important'. That is a really expensive PR box.
A 30% cut on all game sales trumps a gamepass sub which MS admits is not even profitable. The mass market doesn't buy consoles at launch. The hardcore gamer who buy several games a year does which is why they're 'PR box' is the only console MS has shown so far.
The mass market already has choices for $299 that will play every major third party title on lockhart for the next two years.
Feel free to disagree, but that Series X Is not going to be cheap with the SSD, the big SoC, the amount of memory and the split pcb. You don't do those things if you want a cheaper machine.
The entire reason Lockhart exists is because MS wants to go for the cheaper segment of the market from the get go and thinks they can sell more consoles if they come with a cheaper box than Sony can.
I mean, nobody knows anything so it's only speculation, but it would be really, really stupid to have both Series X and Lockhart if the only difference between them is $100.
So, that's why I think the Series X is their aspirational box, like the One X was, it's there for graphics comparisons and marketing, but I think MS is hoping they can sell more by selling that next gen in a small box experience.
Given that, $500 and $300 is my prediction.