The rumors circulating regarding the price of the Xbox Series X could spell doom for the next-generation systems that 🐠are due to launch during the 2020 holiday season, as it's possible that Microsoft and Sony could price themselves out of 🍬the market.
Over the past few weeks, there have been two rumors regarding the price of the Xbox Series X that have matched up. The first was one involved a 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:promotion with Monster energy drink, which suggested that the Xbox Series X will retail for $599. Over the past few days, there was 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:another promotion involving Pringles, which also suggested that the console will cost $599. If this number is true, then the PS5 will🎐 likely release at a similar price.
If the $599 figure is accurate (and it very well could be, considering the technology on offer for both systems), then Microsoft and Sony could be in big trouble. History has shown that customers struggle to pay more than $399 for a console at launch, and both the PlayStation and Xbox brands have been on either side of t𝓡his struggle.
The PS3 launched at $499/$599, while the Xbox 🐟360 launched at $299/$399, depending on the hard drive that came with either systemღ. This led to the Xbox brand gaining a lot of ground at the start of the 360 generation. The PlayStation 3 would eventually win back the crowd after a couple of console revisions and price cuts, but the damage was done, as Microsoft had now entrenched itself as the biggest threat to the PlayStation brand. The positions were reversed in the following generation, when the PlayStation 4 launched at $399 and the Xbox One launched at $499. The Xbox One was more expensive due to the Kinect, and Microsoft eventually binned that accessory in order to bring the price down, but the damage was done, and Sony gained an early lead in the marketplace that it has yet to lose.
The next-generation of consoles are launching under some of the worst circumstances imaginable. The COVID-19 pandemic has left many people out of work, which means that $599 will be a stretch too far for people who are going to struggle to make it through this Christmas. There is also competition from 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:the rising star that is the N𝔉intendo Switch, which has seen incredible success during the pandem༒ic and attracted massive audiences, with titles like Animal Crossing: New Horizons and Ring-Fit Adventure dominating the discourse on social media. If Nintendo cuts the price of the Switch and offers some digital games as part of a bundle, then it could steal the thunder from the next-generation of systems.
The launch line-up of the PS5 and Xbox Series X will play a huge factor in determining whether people will seek them out on launch day, but those are currently a huge question mark. Sony has Spider-Man: Miles Morales, which is an exciting title, but it's probably not going to be worth buying a system for. The 168澳洲幸运5开奖网:Xbox Series X lost Halo Infinite and it has basically nothing to compete with the PS5 in terms of exclusives, but the Smart Delivery system and Xbox Game Pass will ensure that the system has a massive library of titles available at launch. The question is whether either system has what it takes at launch to appeal to a wider audience at the $599 price point. A $399 price point would be far more manageable, but Microsoft and Sony might not be willing to take such a big hit on systems, even if itꦑ means getting them into the hands of more fans and making money over the cou✨rse of their lifespan.
There are still a few months to go before the PS5 and Xbox Series X are du🦩e to be released, which means that Microsoft and Sony have plenty of time to announce games and features that will attract people to the system on day one. The only question is whether they can be enough to justify a six hundred dollar price tag, especially in such a rough economic climate?