Xbox Boss: Price a "Critical Factor" - Next-Gen Console Watch (Featuring Phil Spencer)

[TheUnseenTheUnheard]

Xbox Boss: Price a "Critical Factor" - Next-Gen Console Watch - IGN

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch 2020, where we break down all the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X news and rumors. This week we have a very special guest in Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer. We talk about what we will see from Xbox leading up to the Series X launch, the real possibility of...

www.ign.com

Welcome back to Next-Gen Console Watch 2020, where we break down all the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X news and rumors. This week we have a very special guest in Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer. We talk about what we will see from Xbox leading up to the Series X launch, the real possibility of console scarcity and game delay, the determining factors in the Series X price and much much more. Don't forget to vote on this week's poll on the front page of ign.com

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[christocolus]

Nice. Thanks OP for making the thread. It's obvious MS is going to be aggressive with pricing.

 

[RestEerie]

The race to the bottom

 

[tapedeck]

Been saying it since forever..Series X is gonna be $499.

 

[RowdyReverb]

$499. They wouldn't dare go higher unless they also offered a cheaper SKU

 

[Kolx]

$399. Going for the jugular.

 

[tusharngf]

$449 it is ! :D

 

[s y]

price is critical.....you dont say

 

[Bigkrev]

They are going to launch this console in the midst of, at best, a recession. Price is absolutely the most critical factor
Think about how many people who were going to buy a console are now unemployed and have no idea when they will have a paycheck again

 

[THEVOID]

499 would be incredible if they can hit that.

 

[jorgejjvr]

If they manage $400, they would be dropping the mic. Specially with corona about

 

[Deleted member 22750]

399

 

[dabri]

xsx: $499
PS5: $399 (assuming all the proprietary tech doesn't drive up cost)

This gen is definitely going to be more interesting than last.
MS seems to really want it this gen. Can you imagine if they are just waiting for Sony to announce the PS5 price so they can match it or even undercut it?

 

[Biosnake]

Any new info in here or is he just reiterating what he said in that other IGN interview?

 

[FacelessSamurai]

xsx: $499
PS5: $399 (assuming all the proprietary tech doesn't drive up cost)

This gen is definitely going to be more interesting than last.
MS seems to really want it this gen. Can you imagine if they are just waiting for Sony to announce the PS5 price so they can match it or even undercut it?

Click to shrink...

No way there is a 100$ difference

 

[Jiraiya]

xsx: $499
PS5: $399 (assuming all the proprietary tech doesn't drive up cost)

This gen is definitely going to be more interesting than last.
MS seems to really want it this gen. Can you imagine if they are just waiting for Sony to announce the PS5 price so they can match it or even undercut it?

Click to shrink...

It remains hilarious people think there's a 100 dollar between these machines.

 

[Deleted member 46489]

$399 incoming. I feel that Microsoft will take a sizable loss here in order to grow the platform. And the platform isn't Series X. It's Gamepass. Series X is just a part of it. Gamepass is a new platform, and I think they will be happy to take a loss on hardware in order to establish the platform.

Why $399? Because they don't know the price of PS5. If Microsoft prices Series X at $499, and the PS5 comes out at $399 or even $449, it's going to be a repeat of current gen, and that will hurt Microsoft. After the Coronavirus mess, audiences across the world are going to be VERY price sensitive. $399 is the only price where Microsoft will know that the PS5 can't possibly undercut them.

 

[Yuntu]

xsx: $499
PS5: $399 (assuming all the proprietary tech doesn't drive up cost)

This gen is definitely going to be more interesting than last.
MS seems to really want it this gen. Can you imagine if they are just waiting for Sony to announce the PS5 price so they can match it or even undercut it?

Click to shrink...

I dont know why you think Sony would be cheaper tbh.

edit: these 400 dreams remain quite naive to me

 

[TheUnseenTheUnheard]

They are going to launch this console in the midst of, at best, a recession. Price is absolutely the most critical factor
Think about how many people who were going to buy a console are now unemployed and have no idea when they will have a paycheck again

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That's exactly the context of the quote or at least part of it.

 

[deadfolk]

No way there is a 100$ difference

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Nah. They're playing chicken at the moment. Neither wants to announce price first. If there's any possibility at all they'll try to keep it within $50 of each other.

Also, MS will be especially aggressive because they have so much to lose.

 

[low-G]

Price is a huge factor - more than ever - but if XSX comes out this year it's hard for me to see them selling it for less than $599...

I'm not on team $999 anymore with the news that the SoC die size is only X1X sized. Between that and the RAM we have a lot of the cost of manufacturing.

 

[LavitzSlambert]

$449. 100% sure Microsoft takes a bath or the experience is somehow compromised.

 

[Bonfires Down]

The people who have been saying $599 or more have been smoking some weird shit. It will be between $399 and $499 depending on Sony's price.

 

[Gif]

I'm surprised people still think $399 for the PS5.

If it was a 9.1TF and normal SSD I'd agree with that.

But I think the special SSD and cooling solution required to get the TF to 10.3, will make it atleast $449.

I think the XSX will be $499 and the Lockhart $349

 

[Seijuro]

€/$499 (heck, even 399) is still steep if the economy is tanking in every market in the world and millions of potential customers are out of jobs. I think Sony and MS could release at 599 and still would do similar numbers as they release to a small (wealthy) market.

 

[Cyborg]

xsx: $499
PS5: $399 (assuming all the proprietary tech doesn't drive up cost)

This gen is definitely going to be more interesting than last.
MS seems to really want it this gen. Can you imagine if they are just waiting for Sony to announce the PS5 price so they can match it or even undercut it?

Click to shrink...

That would be something, I have a feeling this is going to happen. Phil is here to win on all subjects!

 

[Thera]

They have an interesting list of talking point and they choosed this headline. Oh IGN...

 

[Biggzy]

When Spencer said that they will not be beaten on price or performance many people, myself included, assumed this was in relation to Lockheart. However, it is beginning to seem that he is just referring to the Series X.

 

[Prine]

Phil saying they're "agile" is whats interesting to me. Happy to take losses with blessing from Satya.

 

[christocolus]

When Spencer said that they will not be beaten on price or performance many people, myself included, assumed this was in relation to Lockheart. However, it is beginning to seem that he is just referring to the Series X.

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This. I've been getting that vibe too.

 

[Vestal]

499 IMO is the realistic one.

399 Would be drop the mic, this Gen is over type deal.

 

[Black_Red]

They can go 100 USD more expensive and add 3 months of gamepass, since it will mean it would include every first party launch game and a PS5 with 2 games would be more expensive (unless in PS5 PSnow also include launch games, but I doubt it).

 

[Acquiescence]

Phil wants that Andy House moment of triumph. $399 it is.

 

[CliveLH]

Still betting on 49$ more than PS5 but with 1-3 months of Game Pass included in the box (which means you don't have to add an extra 49$ to buy a game which you'll have to do on PS5)

 

[banter]

This gen gon' be wild...

Still betting on 49$ more than PS5 but with 1-3 months of Game Pass included in the box (which means you don't have to add an extra 49$ to buy a game which you'll have to do on PS5)

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I don't know about that. Generally, games and controllers are the only money makers with new console releases and you're basically saying they're going to be like, fuck making money. Give them game pass for free with the hopes they will continue to a subscription and let them use their old controllers.

 

[Ivanovic]

Purely Price talk on era: Both consoles will be the same price since they're very similar and very little difference between them.

Purely spec talk on era: The Series X blows the PS5 out of the water and Sony have been caught wit their pants down. What was Cerny thinking?

Almost as if people have finally realised all this boasting about superior power does actually have downsides.

 

[Kyoufu]

Lockhart wouldn't exist if they were aiming for $399.

 

[DigSCCP]

If they manage to be on the same price as PS5 it will be a huge win for them.

 

[TheUnseenTheUnheard]

 

[LiK]

Wow, no shit.

Spoiler

$499

 

[Betamaxbandit]

xsx: $499
PS5: $399 (assuming all the proprietary tech doesn't drive up cost)

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Wasnt there a report that the parts for PS5 roughly cost around $450 (without the SSD) I could be completely misremembering that. If not, I think they launch same price as XSX at $499. Although it wouldnt suprise me if it was a little higher from both

 

[Gray Fox]

For me, even if MS matches Sony in price, it's still going to come down to 1st party games.

 

[Trago]

$399. Going for the jugular.

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Then why release Lockhart at all at that point?

 

[-Le Monde-]

Been saying it since forever..Series X is gonna be $499.

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That has been the expected price since the beginning. :P

 

[Naga]

People are going back too much to the Lockhart argument when we don't even know if it's still happening, and at which price it would be.

 

[z0m3le]

Estimates for the XSX BOM is around $465, for PS5 it was reportedly $450, I think people are underestimating how much that first to market, custom, high-end SSD is going to cost Sony. Microsoft had considered going with a much slower 3.8GB/s SSD than Sony's 5.5GB/s one, but settled on an average 2.4GB/s SSD because of the price difference.

I think Microsoft will match Sony on price, though with Coronavirus being an issue, we shouldn't be confident about anything regarding these platforms, things are changing every day, and until this is under control, we should assume things will get delayed and prices of hardware could very much change.

 

[Elios83]

Price is very important that is why we're making Lockhart!

By the way we already know that their initial strategy was to sandwich Sony between a 299$ and a 499$ model because they expected a 8-9TF PS5 with a traditional SSD solution at 399$.
Now with PS5 at 10.3TF and a SSD at twice their speed of their solution 399$ is not a locked price for Sony anymore.
How things will evolve will depend more on Sony and their ability to price things lower than 499$ with their hardware, which is to be seen.
In any case the price won't be higher than 499$ for both, even 499$ in the current market is a price just for core gamers.

 

[CliveLH]

This gen gon' be wild...

I don't know about that. Generally, games and controllers are the only money makers with new console releases and you're basically saying they're going to be like, fuck making money. Give them game pass for free with the hopes they will continue to a subscription and let them use their old controllers.

Click to shrink...

That's exactly the point of all the trial of Game Pass that are out here right now : buy 1 month for 1$ and keep the subscription because it's so great.

 

[wingkongex]

Both consoles will be $499.

 

[litebrite]

Nah. They're playing chicken at the moment. Neither wants to announce price first. If there's any possibility at all they'll try to keep it within $50 of each other.

Also, MS will be especially aggressive because they have so much to lose.

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What? MS has less to lose than Sony or Nintendo. What are you talking about? They've expanded Xbox beyond a console and have PC and services like Game Pass on Xbox and PC as well as their streaming service xCloud to mobile, tablets, and PC. This isn't the past, where the war is simply won by selling the most consoles. It's now just a battle in a much bigger war.