I agree price won’t make the console, however, it can definitely break it especially when it comes to sales. I’m almost willing to bet that they’re aiming for $499. However, I’m really worried about MS and the Series X and now with the discless PS5 the Series S as well. MS wanted the performance crown and now they’re going to have to pay handsomely for it, those extra 16 CUs will easily boost the price $100 over the PS5.
I think MS was trying to go with Series X for $599 and Series S for $399, but Sony might have ruined their plan with the discless SKU which can easily be $449, or Sony can be even more aggressive and launch it at $399 which completely negates the point of the Series S price advantage because if it’s still around 4TF – 5TF then the PS5 is 2x as powerful and the same price or still a better value if the Series S is $50 less. MS could also cut cost $100 by removing the disc drive in the Series S which would be a best-case scenario for them to win in pricing.
But there’s also the rumor that the XBO-X is going to delay the Series S for 1 – 2 years unless sales drop off, and Lockhart will launch then to replace it, but by then it’s kind of too late, as you’ve giving PS5 too much time to take over the global market by being just as good in most games and being potentially much cheaper.
Price is going to have a huge impact on the early success of these consoles. PlayStation has such a global fanbase that it’s going to do well regardless, as PS4 nears 50m users in EU alone, and nears 10m in JP, and 20m RoW. Xbox on the other hand needs this win in NA to really gain ground, but at a potential $599 that’s not going to happen. They can launch the Series X at $499, but then they’re taking an even greater loss than a $299 Series S.
