Topic: Console prices

Edit 2: The idea was to compare the price of the Switch to possible next gen consoles. The price comparison was to see that prices are unlikely to go down and that the Switch will be the cheapest console by a large margin.

Edit: Inflation makes most of the information here kinda pointless because consoles have generally become cheaper or not changed that much. However the fact that the Switch will be much cheaper than next gen consoles unless they opt for streaming is still true judging by the Xbox One X's $499 pricing and its specs. So it'll be interesting to see how this benefits the Switch.

Original post:
People keep talking about the next generation of consoles with the release of the PS5 and Xbox possibly releasing in two years time. These should include huge advancements in raw power due to newer technologies.

On the other hand the Switch released last year with impressive specs for a handheld but people keep saying it needs a price drop to actually succeed. My argument here is that the Switch is actually pretty cheap for today's standards.

Lets look at console prices in general:
PS1(1995): $299
PS2 (2000): $299
PS3 (2006): $499
PS4 (2013): $399
PS4 Pro (2016): $399

Xbox (2001): $299
Xbox 360 (2005): $399
Xbox One (2013): $499
Xbox One X (2017): $499

Aside from the PS3 to PS4, every console has either risen in price or stayed the same. This is also happening in other areas of technology such as phones now being over $1000.

So, the point is that the Switch is cheaper than consoles releasing in 2005 and with the increase of pricing on consoles next gen will probably cost $499 to $599. This means the Switch will be almost half the price of those consoles. I'm curious to see what you (lovely) people think prices will be on next gen consoles and how it will affect the Switch. Will casual people see it as the only viable console due to its significantly cheaper price? Or will it be so underpowered people will buy the more expensive home consoles?

A few remarks. The Xbox One X isn't a new console, it's designed as a beefy Xbox (with a higher price as a result). Including it skews the data in favour of your argument. So is the original launch price of the Xbox One. Once they dropped the mandatory Kinect, the system dropped by $100. The price without the Kinect would've been $399 from the start, same price as the PS4. In some countries in Europe it never launched with the Kinect, and it was never €499 to begin with. The PS3 is also an odd one, since it did a lot more than just being a PS3, but the price ended up way higher than people were willing to pay for it initially.

So it's a bit more difficult than just picking a few launch prices and saying there's a trend. The only increase there is should be contributed to inflation. Then there's the fact that there's a perceived value. The PS3 certainly wasn't a smash hit when it hit the shelves in 2006. The same is kinda true for the 3DS. $250 wasn't the price most people were willing to pay for it, and it needed a $80 price drop before it started picking up steam.

@Octane
Xbox One X might not be a new console, but it is the most powerful amd boasts the newest hardware out of all the consoles. Therefore its price shows the minimum for next gen.

And I didn't pick a few prices, I listed all Xbox and Playstation consoles. Denying there isn't a trend just because people didn't buy consoles or because of a price drop afterwards is being delusional. There is a price increase and it will affect next gen. Or do you expect Sony's next console to cost 300€?

@Alber-san Like I said, the Xbox One X is designed as a beefy console that can ''compete'' with the ''higher-end'' PCs, I don't think its price a good indicator of how much the next gen consoles are going to be.

If it's any higher than the most recent launch price, it's due to inflation. That's all there is to it. $399 in 2013 will be about $450 in about two years from now if inflation rises consistently.

Then again, it all depends on what next gen is going to be. With rumours of Microsoft doing a cheap streaming box with the addition of a subscription service, prices aren't going to work the same. It depends on what kind of hardware is in the box. Are they including last gen's hardware like they did with the PS3? How mainstream is the hardware, or is it all proprietary for some reason? Too many factors that make it unable to predict what the price is going to be, at least, without know what next gen actually is.

@Alber-san
I don't even care with specs.
For me, Only Nintendo Switch & other Nintendo machines gave me answer for gamer who adore Cutesy, Creative, Unique, Fun games that Nintendo can delivered very well.

And i felt quite Regret after bought PS4 Slim White on April 2018. I RARELY used my PS4, even The Sims 4 PS4 version (The Only game that i really want to play so bad) couldn't maintain my Hype to play it on PS4.

Allowing for inflation, the Switch is practically the same price as the Super Nintendo when that released. (Ish)

@Anti-Matter
I agree with you but its hard to guess whether the general public does too.

@GrailUK
Interesting. Was it considered cheap or expensive at the time?

@Alber-san If memory recalls, it was more expensive the Megadrive.

I never really get concerns over console pricing and game pricing. If anything, prices have been decreasing regularly when adjusting for inflation as gaming has become more part of the consumer electronic market.

For example, the Atari VCS (2600), when released in 1977 cost $199 (USD) or thereabouts. Adjusting for inflation, that's about $800 (USD) today. Obviously none of the modern consoles come close to that sort of price point.

@Alber-san
"but its hard to guess whether the general public does too."

Hah !
Who cares with those general public.
They will NOT shaping me with their habits.
I WILL Shaping them by introducing Nintendo Switch & other Nintendo machines as the things that they can enjoy very much.

@ValhallaOutcast
Oh wow. Some of those consoles had premium prices at the time. I guess I was wrong then.

The main idea still stands though. PS5 and Xbox 2 prices will still be almost double of that of the Switch (unless Xbox does what @Octane said) so the Switch might be more consumer friendly.

@Alber-san You say you wanted to list all Xbox and Playstation console prices, but one glaring omission is the PS4 Pro. Seeing as you're mentioning the Xbox One X, then the PS4 Pro should also be mentioned in your list, to keep it all fair and equal in its comparison.

Where I live we pay about 60% more for games and consoles. In the past this really bugged me as I would buy into the hype for every major release on Wii/WiiU and Xbox 360 and it did get expensive. Fortunately I do alright in my line of work and can afford that but for others it can be hard to enjoy the hobby. The Switch however has changed my gaming habits so that now I have more refined collection mostly first party and big third party releases and a few indie games so even though everything is still expensive I am spending less because everything I buy is higher quality and I am getting many more hours from each purpose and find myself playing games still that came out over a year ago. The Switch has brought my wife into gaming as well which means I am getting many hours of multiplayer gaming from purchases with her and my growing children. Overall I have had great value for money and should consoles get more expensive I am sure this will continue.

Yes, but only really a stupid person would actually pay $1000 for a smartphone. It's not the standard price of a new phone. You can get a phone that's almost as good (missing only animated Emojis) for a fraction of that price. It's essentially price discrimination, where you sell a near-identical product at different price points to different consumers based on their willingness/ability to pay. Video game consoles have a smaller market and need to be cheaper than a gaming PC. I can see high-end models having a somewhat bigger price tag, but I don't think the standard cost of a new video game console is going to be approaching $1000. Sony got a lot of crap in 2006 when the PS3 cost more than the Wii and 360 combined.

Also, here's an up-to-date version of that console price inflation chart.

http://ca.ign.com/articles/2016/10/04/comparing-the-price-of-...

@ThanosReXXX
Done. Although it really adds nothing seeing as the price is the same as that of the PS4.

The main idea doesn't stand first and foremost because you have no idea what they will cost. There is no way that in the current climate Sony or Microsoft would charge $600 for their next consoles, that's just ridiculous. The fact that the Xbone got clobbered out of the gate at $500 by the ps4 coupled with the fact that both have been more then willing to sell hardware at a loss, unlike Nintendo, means that that its a bit of an outrageous prediction to put it mildly. A gaming pc that is on par if not better than the X can be built for right around $500 further cements that. Sorry man but that's just a baseless prediction when looking at the facts.

I always love when this topic comes up on forums. All things considered, gaming is at one of its cheapest times in history and I'm happy about that!

@Alber-san As is the price that you listed of the Xbox One X compared to the standard Xbox One, so it may not really matter, but you can't use that as an argument to leave it out either, otherwise you might as well also have skipped the Xbox One X.

Prices are all over the board and vary depending on where you live.

Gaming is very cheap right now both console and PC. PC component progression (gpus/processors mostly) have somewhat slowed recently. My radeon rx 390 that I installed two years ago is still in the upper quarter of Tom's GPU Hierarchy chart - that's pretty good and shows that people can hold onto their hardware builds a bit longer without having to upgrade. Games across the board are incredibly cheap if you don't buy immediately and/or simply at retail price. Sales and gaming club perks are ubiquitous in many areas of the world.

"Normal" tech is just so cheap right now. Even SSDs and 2k/4k monitors and stuff (items VERY expensive just a couple years ago) are creeping closer and closer to average pricepoint. I got a 500gig brand-name SSD last week for under 60 bucks. Saw a 27-inch 2k HP gaming monitor with good reviews on Newegg yesterday for under 200 bucks.

I don't think we'll see huge price hops in almost anything until VR/augmented reality starts becoming mainstream. If the next Xbox were to go big on the agumented reality thing, then I can see 500+ asking price. If not and it's just another slightly faster box, I would expect the usual 300 or 400 dollars depending on Hard drive size.

@redd214
But we do know how much they will cost. If Xbox One X released last year and it cost $499, we can assume that in 2 years time (when people are speculating next gen will arrive) with newer tech the price will be aproximately the same. Consoles won't suddenly come down to $300 if Sony's and Microsoft's strategies continue being adding more power.

@ThanosReXXX
Initially I wasn't going to add the Xbox One X, but seeing it released last year and that it will be the console to beat in terms of power for the next consoles I thought it would be relevant to the conversation. That way we can estimate the price of consoles in 2 years time. I still added the Pro like you suggested but it's not as relevant as the Xbox One X because it isn't the console to beat next gen.