If the PS5 Pro (and sparkly Xbox Series X) price is the new normal, I'll be done with console gaming after more than 30 years

[Windows Central]

Both Xbox and PlayStation are pushing console prices dangerously close to the point it makes no sense to buy one anymore. And I don't think I will.

If the PS5 Pro (and sparkly Xbox Series X) price is the new normal, I'll be done with console gaming after more than 30 years : Read more

 

[THOMASMISEVICH]

I hear that, you might as well tack on some more money and just buy a gaming PC. In the long run it's more satisfying.

 

[fatpunkslim]

the problem isn't even the PS5 pro price in fact, it's that it's simply not worth it, this price is not justified and without a reader and without a base. It's just a scam, don't look any further. They just want to line their pockets by brainwashing their fan base with a lot of lying marketing (propaganda?). The difference is marginal in games, and almost no third-party publisher is going to take the trouble to develop specifically for this mid-gen console which will sell very little. In terms of game catalog, it's probably the worst generation of PlayStation in terms of first party games, especially remakes, 1.5 sequels and a turn towards catastrophic service games like Concord (even Helldivers 2 which is a third party game I specify is out of breath).

I really don't see what justifies staying with PlayStation, they go too far with their prices for no real added value in the end, 98% of the catalog is identical on Xbox and on PC we have everything. Paid updates, overpriced DLC and remake, PSVR2 a big flop that is no longer followed. Playstation doesn't care about players, for them we're just cash cows!

Personally, I switched to Xbox and PC, and I'm very happy with it, it's a much healthier ecosystem, the rare PS exclusives arrive on PC anyway. No more need to be milked like this !

 

[negative1ne]

i own an xbox 360, and a friend gave me an xbox one.
i have no need for xbox series c,s or x either.

never owned a sony machine, ever. never saw the need for one,
and not impressed with their machines.

that said, sony is still crushing microsoft in console sales.

it doesn't matter what price it is. so what if this the pro version,
the ps4 pro sold too. as long as a small amount of people buy it,
it will do fine.

all the consoles are going digital only, so there's no real loss in the disk drive.

i own a gaming pc, (with a nvidia 3090), but rarely ever game on it. to me its not much better than the console games (i don't play fps or anything that needs heavy duty graphics). its used more for rendering video and other programs like AI.

--
back to console prices, yes, they keep going up, but thats only normal.
some people only want to play games without the hassle, so they won't switch to the pc.

and also some want a machine to easily connect to their tvs. they dont' know how to hook up their pcs, and don't want all the wires and clutter.

so just telling them to switch to a portable machine (which i would never do), or a pc isn't going to work.

the ps5 pro will do fine, because there are people that want the marginal improvements anyways at any cost.

as long as their are other console options and prices, people will still continue to buy consoles.

 

[fjtorres5591]

There are two different points to consider: price and value.
Price has gone up this generation vs previous generations but we're also looking at 21.6% inflation since 2020.

This means that a $499 purchase in 2020 is worth $606 in 2024.
So the sparkly XS Is actually offering an extra terabyte of storage for the same (inflation adjusted) price as the launch edition and the 1TB launch edition at $499 in 2024 dollars is costing $410 in 2020 dollars.

The same exercise on the Pro raises the question of whether the $800 Pro offers $200 more value than the launch PS5 with drive and stand at $499 (2020 dollars)/$599 (2024 dollars).

Inflation matters and is not going away.

So, like it or not, come 2026 the next XBOX may very well cost $599 at which point the real question will be what do you get for $599 in 2026 dollars.

Just bear in mind that PC prices are also subject to inflation.

 

[Tim_The_Enchanter]

I'm done. I bought into the hype of this generation, and I'm massively disappointed and regret buying both XSX and PS5. The consoles themselves are fine, hardware-wise, it's the software catalog that's a complete joke. That Sony wants us to pay $700 for the Pro, with no optical drive, no stand, and nothing to play... I'm all set with consoles. Everything started going downhill in 2013. Xbox and 360 were fantastic consoles. PS1-PS2 are legendary. I may buy the next Nintendo console, but MS and Sony can gargle-blast my plum sack, and tongue-punch my starfish.

 

[Sachmojo]

Absolutely ridiculous take. Tell me you know nothing about money without etc etc

For context, the SNES on release in 1990 cost USD199. That was 34 years ago.

Adjusting for 3.5% annual inflation, that gets to USD641 in todays money. And we're not talking about a "Pro" release or anything here, we're talking base model.

Conclusion: premium 'Pro' models aside, in real terms consoles today are CHEAPER than they were in the 90s. And still WAY more affordable than a upper-mid level gaming rig.

 

[Sachmojo]

There are two different points to consider: price and value.
Price has gone up this generation vs previous generations but we're also looking at 21.6% inflation since 2020.

This means that a $499 purchase in 2020 is worth $606 in 2024.
So the sparkly XS Is actually offering an extra terabyte of storage for the same (inflation adjusted) price as the launch edition and the 1TB launch edition at $499 in 2024 dollars is costing $410 in 2020 dollars.

The same exercise on the Pro raises the question of whether the $800 Pro offers $200 more value than the launch PS5 with drive and stand at $499 (2020 dollars)/$599 (2024 dollars).

Inflation matters and is not going away.

So, like it or not, come 2026 the next XBOX may very well cost $599 at which point the real question will be what do you get for $599 in 2026 dollars.

Just bear in mind that PC prices are also subject to inflation.

Don't expect actual facts to get in the way of a good ol' gamer rant mate

 

[fjtorres5591]

Don't expect actual facts to get in the way of a good ol' gamer rant mate

Well, the fact is that after 20 years of essentially negative interest rates and sub 2% nominal inflation, a lot of people haven't internalized proper economic thinking. You see it all over, like the idiot politician that wants to institute price controls to prevent "excesive profits" in supermarkets?! (1-2% net margins are excessive?)
And nobody in the media calls bs on them.

Economic illiteracy is all over.
Especially among politicians, activists, and pundits.

Such are the times.

 

[Tim_The_Enchanter]

Absolutely ridiculous take. Tell me you know nothing about money without etc etc

For context, the SNES on release in 1990 cost USD199. That was 34 years ago.

Adjusting for 3.5% annual inflation, that gets to USD641 in todays money. And we're not talking about a "Pro" release or anything here, we're talking base model.

Conclusion: premium 'Pro' models aside, in real terms consoles today are CHEAPER than they were in the 90s. And still WAY more affordable than a upper-mid level gaming rig.

Lol. Another Sony defender.

Just because you adjusted for inflation, means nothing. The economy in the 90s was far stronger than it is today. Not to mention, consoles were still in their infancy, and was more of a niche than it is today. They didn't have Madden and CoD Bros back then, who buy the same game every single year. This console doesn't even come with a disc drive or a stand; you have to shovel out more money for that. Sony thinks they're Apple, and you're fine with it.

Why does everyone think that adjusting for inflation is some magic bullet? Whatever you need to use to cope with the fact that a company is fleecing you. I'll never understand why consumers defend mega corporations. Y'all are strange.

 

[fjtorres5591]

Lol. Another Sony defender.

Just because you adjusted for inflation, means nothing. The economy in the 90s was far stronger than it is today. Not to mention, consoles were still in their infancy, and was more of a niche than it is today. They didn't have Madden and CoD Bros back then, who buy the same game every single year. This console doesn't even come with a disc drive or a stand; you have to shovel out more money for that. Sony thinks they're Apple, and you're fine with it.

Why does everyone think that adjusting for inflation is some magic bullet? Whatever you need to use to cope with the fact that a company is fleecing you. I'll never understand why consumers defend mega corporations. Y'all are strange.

Nobody is saying inflation adjustment is a magic bullet.
Nor is anybody in this thread defending Sony.
(And note the OP took potshots at XBOX, too.)

But adjusting for inflation provides the *minimum* context to *begin* to discuss value. Which I, on principle alone, won't waste time on. Value judgement is personal and meaningless in most situations; one person's overpriced junk is the next person's bargain. PS5 Pro value judgements I leave to PS-rah rah sites like IGN, Digital Forge, and Metro.

As an XBOX gamer, I'm actually happy to see the PS5 Pro price get pushback because it justifies XBOX *not* doing a mid-gen refresh and instead focusing on a 2026 next gen xbox. That lines up better with their coming game releases and the maturation of AI development tools. At that point I'll make my own value judgement, based on price, features, and context. And if it makes sense I might upgrade, stay put, or move to PC.

To each their own.

 

[Sim2er]

$550 to $600 inflation adjusted price has been the ideal zone for decades, and I don't see it changing anytime soon. (Source)

There is room in the market for premium devices, but consoles have to make a case for why well endowed buyers should buy a console over a PC. There's also room for budget devices, but they also have to be very targeted since they will not satisfy the mainstream audience either

 

[fjtorres5591]

$550 to $600 inflation adjusted price has been the ideal zone for decades, and I don't see it changing anytime soon. (Source)

There is room in the market for premium devices, but consoles have to make a case for why well endowed buyers should buy a console over a PC. There's also room for budget devices, but they also have to be very targeted since they will not satisfy the mainstream audience either

Your source should be required reading for everybody interested in (or writing about!) gaming consoles. It defines the pricing context against which value can be rationally discussed.

Given that source goes back to the very beginning, I would suggest also considering the peak of the home computer wars (1981-85) with the Vic-20/Commodore 64 and Atari XL/Xe ranging in price from $200-300 ($600-1000, 2024) but also serving the small business and educational computer markets as well as premium gaming market. Similarly, the Atari ST and Amiga lines starting at $500 in 1985 (~$1450 2024) served the same markets until the PC gaming market matured and forced home computers off the shelves.

As the listed source points out, consoles have done best when staying in their window and safely out of range of the home computer/gaming computer sweet spot pricing window of ($1000-1500, 2024) and the closer they get, the lower their sales get as the PC Non-gaming value comes into view. (These days, the cheapest usable laptops run $300-400 so a PC offers at least that much added value above their gaming value.)

There is room for premium hardware but as the ST/Amiga boxes demonstrated, software developer support tends to fall off very quickly when hardware market share falls below 10%.

Of note: PS4 pro peaked at 13% and PS5 Pro at $800-1000 projects at 8%, which explains why the intro presentation lacked 3rd party examples or even *new* 1st party games. Not to say they won't arrive, in time. But the launch window angst is understandable, given the historical context.

Basically the PS5 Pro is priced as if it were a 2026 console (assuming 7% inflation.) Quite a gamble.

 

[DeltaFive]

Good article. When you buy a console youre getting a console thats only relevant during its generation, we are approaching 2025 and XB is already talking about focusing on their next gen console in 2028 -- when you buy a (gaming) PC you get something that can game, take apart and update individual parts as needed and is capable of doing soo much more. You get a computer that can also be used for work, school, etc. I used to be a fan of consoles but the recent 600 & 700$ price increases has effectively made me a (desktop) PC gamer. I totally agree with voting with your wallet

 

[fjtorres5591]

Good article. When you buy a console youre getting a console thats only relevant during its generation, we are approaching 2025 and XB is already talking about focusing on their next gen console in 2028 -- when you buy a (gaming) PC you get something that can game, take apart and update individual parts as needed and is capable of doing soo much more. You get a computer that can also be used for work, school, etc. I used to be a fan of consoles but the recent 600 & 700$ price increases has effectively made me a (desktop) PC gamer. I totally agree with voting with your wallet

Agree.
My history was with home computers (Atari in particular) precisely because I could do word processing and spreadsheets as well as game. Later I moved to PC as the internet took off. And then came Morrowind...
...the minimum recommended video card cost as much as an XBOX and that let me play off the living room TV just as 40" HDTVs became (relatively) affordable. That value proposition remained for Oblivion and Skyrim and the current generation.
I've moved my PC needs to low end laptops in the $300-500 range over the last 2 gaming generations. Which puts my price tolerance at $800-1000 in 2024 dollars.

The next generation?
It will depend on the price differential between a midrange PC and the console.
And, how PC-like the next XBOX turns out.
Under the right configuration, there might be good value in even a premium console.
It is too early to make a rational proclamation on a product two years or more in the future.