What We Know on the Xbox Series X Price - News
by William D'Angelo , posted on 07 July 2020 / 5,937 Views
Microsoft at The Game Awards announced its next generation console, codenamed Project Scarlett, is officially called Xbox Series X, as well as announcing Senua’s Saga: Hellblade II for the console. The Xbox Series X launches in Holiday 2020 with Halo: Infinite as a launch title.
Microsoft has stated a specific launch price of Xbox Series X, however, they have hinted at how much it will cost.
Microsoft’s Partner Director of Program Management Jason Ronald previously stated that the team does "understand what reasonable price points are for a console and kind of what customers expect about that. At the same time to you, we are innovating we are pushing the boundaries of some of this.
"We're not sharing any details on price, or, you know, more detailed specs at this point. But I will say that we're very confident in what we're building, something that will set a new bar for expectations of console gaming."
Head of Xbox Phil Spencer has mentioned that the Xbox One launch price was a mistake as it was $100 more than the PlayStation 4, despite in being less powerful. The Xbox One was bundled with the Kinect at launch, which is the main reason it was more expensive.
"I would say a learning from the Xbox One generation is we will not be out of position on power or price," Spencer said. "If you remember the beginning of this generation we were a hundred dollars more expensive and, yes, we were less powerful. And we started Project Scarlett with this leadership team in place with a goal of having market success."
Here is what is known about the specs of the Xbox Series X.
- CPU: AMD Ryzen Zen 2 CPU
- GPU: AMD Navi-based GPU (~12 TFLOPs)
- RAM: GDDR6 SDRAM (capacity not confirmed)
- Storage: NVMe SSD (capacity not confirmed)
- Max Output Resolution: 8K
- Max Refresh Rate: 120Hz
Thanks GameSpot.
A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.
More Articles
Pricing for either console won't be revealed until the very last moment, to avoid the comprimising situation of the competitor lowering the price just enough right after the announcement. That's killed consoles in the past.
That's how the PlayStation made its debut in the US, killing the Saturn by undercutting the price Sega announced at E3 by $100.
Xbox one X set the price for high end console at $499 USD, I expect to pay the same thing for Xbox Series X.
499 will be reasonable if they are stronger than PS5 and within 50USD price difference. We will have a better idea of prices when we at least know the specs of both so we can speculate if there will be 0, 50 or 100 USD difference based on the specs.
Xbox Series X = 599$, Xbox Series S = 399$. Thats my predict, anyone that thinks 599$ is too much, MS will just tell you to get a Series S instead.
Microsoft wants to win the next generation and come out with a bang. Your price model make this impossible. Xbox Series S need to be closer to $299. Xbox Series X - $499 & Xbox Series S - $299 make much more sense, don't forget that Microsoft will be making most of their money of gamepass going forward. They have no interest in making the console price a barrier to entry. They need to sell subscription not make small profit on hardware.
Don is back?
I've been gaming since Atari 2600, and have owned almost every major system since then. However, I can say with absolute certainty that I will not pay over $500 for a console at this time, and that I'd only likely pay that much if I was getting the system near launch. So, if XBSX launches at $600, it may be several years before I own the next gen XB. MS certainly knows this, and they certainly know that $500 was too much last time. So, I see absolutely zero chance that they go even higher this time.
With that said, I can see a scenario where they launch something at $600. But, only if they have another, very powerful option available at a lower price point. A much weaker Lockhart at $400 would fit this roll. It would have to be something like a basic series X for $499, and a Series X with much larger SSD for $599 or something
You do realise that half of all major MS and Sony SKUs at launch, costed over $500 in today's money. XB1 - $550/$511(X), PS4 - $440/$430(Pro), XB360 - $525/$400, PS3 - $765/$655, PS2 - $445, XB - $435, PS1 - $505 ... average $515, median $505. By the end of 2020, these figures will increase by another 2-3%.
That doesn't really make much difference from a psychological standpoint. $500 today may be cheap in 1980 dollars, but it sill looks like a big, off-putting number for a video game console.
Has these specs actually been confirmed? I havnt read 12TF aside from speculations.
MS also said the system itself is 4x stronger than X1X. Also makes no sense to see GPU 2x stronger than X1X and assume 12TF as a newer architeture probably a 10TF would already be 2x stronger than X1X GPU.
$499 is the minimum I see PS5/XSX launching. If they get under that with the SSD and supposed power, I'd be incredibly surprised.
I really think Sony is aiming for $399 again. So I imagine MS would go above and below.
I'm predicting 399-449 depending on the spec difference against XSX. If their specs is very close then Sony would try 449 against 499 of MS (but then probably MS would also change plan for a 449 and both would have price parity). If HW power is very different then 399 for PS5 and 499 for XSX will be the release and any price variation will happen about 3-6 months after depending on how well market receives both.
I don't see XSX going bellow 449 because that would make it hard for Lockhart unless it goes for 199 tag.
If MS really wanted to make noise and still fit the model they're trying to execute, they would release the Series X at a price below $100. Yes, $100. Why? To, 1.) Establish a large user base and 2.) Push the whole GamePass concept. They are the company in prime position for a model like it.
I think $500 and $400 work out quite well. If they can get the cheaper version to $350, they'll be golden.
350 for the HW that have equivalent to X1X power would be slaughtered by PS5 if it is under 450.
The fact that MS is already marketing it as the fastest and most powerful, says to me they're seriously thinking of charging $599 for Anaconda. If MS is by chance planning for $499, then they're taking a major risk here with their marketing. If PS5 is faster or more powerful, or heaven forbid both, it's going to look real bad on XB, as long as PS5 matches that same $499. This to me says MS is being so confident because they know PS won't go above $499 for a single SKU launch, so as long as Anaconda is $100 more powerful than that (maybe a little more because of subsidies), they can basically guarantee the early marketing can stick. The next question would be where do PS5 and Lockhart actually fall? Will PS5 be $499 or $399? Could Lockhart then be $399 or $299? I know Phil has said they learned their lesson, but he makes sure to point out they were more expensive, but also weaker. It wouldn't be crazy to think they decided that they want the hardware power marketing and are just going to make sure they can have it, even if it means being more expensive than PS5. Having Lockhart at $399 or $299 makes this decision much easier. You cover the low and high end of the market and pull as many from in between as you can.
They could claim having the fastest and the cheapest in one sentence, we know PR do that without saying that they are referring to 2 machines.
MS may have learn their lesson, but so have Sony from their mistakes, MS mistakes and also where they done right. So one thing this type of phrase don't catch is that they don't control what the competitor do.
If this were the general price and performance range for the two potential XB SKU's, PS could also have two of their own. Maybe they just don't bother with a low end model at all, but use that money to subsidize PS5 so it ends up $50-$100 cheaper than Anaconda, with similar enough specs, and push the value sale. Both companies will have to strategize and find their way once the cards are finally down.
To everyone saying $600 is too much: That was in 2006. When factored for inflation that would be $750 in today's money. A price of $399.99 in 2006 would be $510 in today's money. A price of $470 in 2020 would be equal to a price of $600 in 2006. I have to ask. Would a $470 console in 2006 that was 3x more powerful than the 360 have flopped?
You're forgetting perception matters as well and right now, the perception of $600 is too damn high. People don't care about actual inflation ratios, they care about what they perceive to be true.
Yep people know inflation exist, but they don't like to see big tags. TVs keep going down in price even with inflation.
Publishers go around the 60USD with several editions, DLC, etc. Console makers gone around with subs and bundles. But I don't think this gen we are going to see over 499 pricetag on release unless we see let's say X1X base being it and X1X with bigger SSD or elite controller or anything similar for 599.
I will never understand those who earn like 1000 bucks more a month because of Inflation but don't accept 100 more for a console. It would help so much to get a more powerful console they use over years.
But at the same time prices for cars, smartphones and stuff can increase without a problem.
Even next generation in 2027 or so will have this mindest that a console has to be below 500 or better below 400. People Just fool themselves with this If it's about their hobby
Both Sony with PS3 at 499 (20GB model) and MS with X1+Kinect and X1X saw market resistance for the pricepoint. And I agree consumers have a fault on that, pay 1000 for a new phone every year or 2 but not on a console that you'll use for 7 years, but companies are bound by these people mentality.
Most people don't spend $1000 on a phone, and like it or not, a smartphone is considered a better value proposition than a game console by most people. Even $500 is pushing it in my book.
My guess is that it'll be $599, but they are waiting on Sony, so that they can undercut them.
If they are planning for 599, if PS5 releases for 399 even if they want to cut the price that will be problematic.
I don't think 12TFlops have been confirmed yet.
About price nothing is certain as well, they want to be competitive in price and power, but that doesn't say if they will be more powerful and cheaper than PS5 nor how much it will cost.
Well I do expect less than 500 and more than 400 and no more than 20% performance gap between it and PS5 (price will also have some 50-100 difference with the weaker being cheaper).
SX 599 SS 499
MS can go that high on Series X because they have a cheaper alternative coming to the market as well. The premium box is expected to sell to the hardcore audience not the casuals.
Yep, I would expect for Series X something like packing 600 HW on a 500 pricepoint that will be losing money for a year or two (but with services and royalties covering it) and lockhart I think would need to be 250 if PS5 launches for 400. At least I think it would be hard sell to have PS5 having like 3x the power of Lockhart costing only 100 more while being only 30% weaker than XSX while being 100 cheaper. That would put PS5 at a very comfortable middle ground.
Essay Pro