Personally, I think the price point is the bigger issue here in the wider context, especially the european prices. Personally, the drm was never an issue for me. Anyway I will buy games in whichever system it is best in. I think MS challenge is to sell the added benefit of the system, of Kinect and all that. If they can accomplish that, then they might yet still sell well, even at a higher price point.
Business Approach Comparison Sony PS4 and Microsoft Xbox
- Thread starter BRiT
- Start date
I heard Gaikai wont be until 2014 and then it'll be for the US. I did not hear mention of other countries. Nor did they indicate what the price would be; many suspect it will be an additional service fee.
The initial cost of purchase
When considering the relative price points you have to remember it the out the door costs.
Right now the minimum likely cost out the door (based off 5 years console selling) is probably:
Console $499/$399
Two games $120
One game/Controller $60
Total $680/580 respectively U.S.D.
(Maybe warranty given the reputations of both PS3/360)
The percentage price difference for a typical purchaser would be: ~17%. Also if the $200 subsidy is available for the Xbox One then theoretically someone could leave the store with a $480 console (perhaps even lower if the subsidy is better)
Now from the perspective of someone who just played games and whom just used the basic dual shock style controller last generation then the PS4 is the obvious choice.
Where things get interesting is when you get crossover. If you were PS3/PC this generation then would you even need a PS4 since your rig is likely adequate for the job AND Sony/Microsoft exclusives are likely to come out on PC?
The other major group are people who have taken advantage of both motion and regular games. If you want motion then pretty much the default choice has to be the Xbox One given the fact that Nintendo doesn't really support waggle anymore. Since there are a lot of Wii plus HD console households according to the NPD then this group may be drawn towards the Xbox One.
When considering the relative price points you have to remember it the out the door costs.
Right now the minimum likely cost out the door (based off 5 years console selling) is probably:
Console $499/$399
Two games $120
One game/Controller $60
Total $680/580 respectively U.S.D.
(Maybe warranty given the reputations of both PS3/360)
The percentage price difference for a typical purchaser would be: ~17%. Also if the $200 subsidy is available for the Xbox One then theoretically someone could leave the store with a $480 console (perhaps even lower if the subsidy is better)
Now from the perspective of someone who just played games and whom just used the basic dual shock style controller last generation then the PS4 is the obvious choice.
Where things get interesting is when you get crossover. If you were PS3/PC this generation then would you even need a PS4 since your rig is likely adequate for the job AND Sony/Microsoft exclusives are likely to come out on PC?
The other major group are people who have taken advantage of both motion and regular games. If you want motion then pretty much the default choice has to be the Xbox One given the fact that Nintendo doesn't really support waggle anymore. Since there are a lot of Wii plus HD console households according to the NPD then this group may be drawn towards the Xbox One.
trainplane
Newcomer
MS would need to lower the price before launch if they do. They can't lower it in 3 months after release unless they make huge concessions to the early adopters. Either they lower it before launch or they lower it in a year.
I'm kinda surprised they didn't announce a subsidy. Everyone was expecting it. Heck, the Xbox 360 had it. Perhaps they wanted to lure Sony into a trap of trying to sell their console cheaper, then Microsoft announces a $299 price + subscription (remember, people are bad at math and most will ignore the price of subscription even if it does come out more expensive). Then they've found a way to sell a box with very little loss to more people at a "lower" price.
that's a bingo
surprised they will give up UK, Sony going hard there... Ms needs to go lower in UK quick
trainplane
Newcomer
I don't think MS is that clever. They just priced it wrong. But I can almost guarantee that MS is working with their internal number crunchers to see how much they are willing to eat to launch at $399 now that they know Sony's price.
You are right that a lot of people just look at sticker price. The whole value proposition argument falls on deaf ears. It didn't work with Sony (look the PS3 has free online and Blu-Ray!) and it won't work with MS (look we have Kinect included).
Will the pay to play online thing hurt the sales of the systems for those who primarily play on either the competing system or PC? Since both have it then having a PS4/Xbox One for the purposes of a few exclusives is more of a hassle/expensive than it used to be.
The assumption that they will continue to be as generous?
Interest in moving to PC has increased. No PSEye as standard means no extraordinary, fabulous games. Everything will be standard controller fare and the only difference between the PS4 experience and PC experience will be Sony's exclusives.
I haven't had time to read up on both machines fully, but I'm not seeing any "wow, incredible" regards Sony's OS space and services, as if it's just a games console.
MS have added free games to XBLive Gold, no? I think that's the way it's headed, sweetening the online-play-tax with some (unwanted) paybacks. What online services did they demo? Do you have robust party connection, cross game chat, and everything else we've been asking for to justify the price?
£429 in the UK will be far more of an issue than DRM thats for sure, especially with the PS4 at £350. Yeah I'm sure MS will make sure that Kinect is heavily advertised as being standard but again that that assumes customers actually want it. Also I would still like to hear from publishers such as EA , are they going to somehow protect their disc based games on PS4 or are they dropping protection of any kind? If it's the latter MS stance makes no sense whatsoever and developers and publishers will see no benefit and MS most certainty won't
Consoles will be a 'second system'. I go through periods of non-gaming so the justification of having a second system is lower unless that second system does something else. The fact that the Xbox One can do interesting multimedia stuff, makes itself always available and has controls you don't have on the PC. Paying $60 USD a year is an annoyance more than anything else if I don't feel like I'm getting value from it. If they give me something silly like a programming guide and the ability to control my Sky box then I can justify paying some money. I just wonder how common my feelings are amongst the PC endowed and whether we are a big enough group to move the needle. It is just about enough to make me consider going PC only. $60 a year is about 3 games *I* want on Steam.
Both consoles have been 'backed into corner' by the announcement of the "xbox (did I mention TV?) one".
MS seemed to have banned kinect from the show entirely... whilst Sony have kept almost complete silence on pseyeeye/move since their announcement. Although Sony did bring out "Sony movies/music division" during their show, which surprised me (I thought they were supposed to be selling it?)
The other 'gotcha' is that it seems Durango's UI is 'behind schedule' whilst I don't think we've even seen a faked demo of the PS4's UI?
Plenty of time anyway and I assume there will be some separate events for the interface stuff later.
HollovVpo1nt
Newcomer
I can't beleive how much out of touch Microsoft has become with the world. I've been a long time Xbox fan (as in preferring Xbox gaming over PS) and a huge Halo fan. Not even Halo can keep me with Xbox. Sony has been nailing Microsofts coffin. But at least they;re entitled to a funeral. If Sony would announce the Xbox One controller is compatible with PS4, then they'll even take that funeral away.
Yes... Did they go overtime for the presentation due to the late start ? If not, they may have cut contents out.
Either some third parties bailed, or they moved PSEye/Vita segments.
My guess is Sony will focus more on cloud gaming to differentiate. This is because Gaikai will allow them to sell more content to other platforms eventually. They need to establish and expand the server infrastructure appropriately.
Bundling PSEye means they have to contend with MS and Nintendo over the casuals, which dilutes their core gamers focus. Move is not universal. Some core gamers love it. Some can't get used to it. Wonderbook doesn't seem to penetrate. Unless PSEye has a universal draw, they may gain better traction with a lower entry price.
Take the time to implement a good PSEye concept. Then come back again.
Sigfried1977
Legend
They did just that in a desperate attempt to turn around the fortunes of the original Xbox in Europe actually. (went from 470€ to 299€ in the first few months.)
Although that was adjusting the overinflated EU price to the US price, rather than a worldwide price-drop.
