Welcome to my opinion piece on why I personally think Xbox Series X will be the most important console on the market.
I know my point of view may be very personal, but I base it on a lot of actual information and the current estimates in regards of the PS5 price point. First let us look at the price point of the PS5, thanks to the analyst Mochizuki from Wall Street Journal we were given the idea that the manufacturing cost of the console would be 450 dollars just for the parts of the device. As later construed by Jaz Cena, a personal friend of mine, she was estimating the console would be around the 670 mark by the time it hits the market in Europe.
She went as far as to explain it as follows… First, they will need to put the console together and provide a box, manual, controller, cables and so on. Next is shipping to Europe. All people in between will pick a little profit, each time raising the price. This would lead the device to an approximate 520ish Euros. This includes packaging, transport to Europe and in the hands of the stores that need to sell it.
The next caveat is local taxes. Belgium, where we live, has a whopping 21% base tax and that would raise the price even higher at around 660 euros. This would leave a mere 10 euros profit for the stores selling the console and a more realistic price prior to Sony cutting the price is 699 euros. I can tell you right now, I am not buying a console at that price. My personal limit is 499 which is rumored to be the price for the Series X.
I think many gamers will react the same way. Even went as far as to ask some friends and none of them was going to pull the trigger at that price point. Obviously we know consoles are often sold at a loss because the real money is made on software and that is exactly where I think Microsoft is once again on top of the game. Together with Nintendo, they will bring the most console exclusive games and it is all due to the smartest business move on Microsoft’s part. The company has been buying game studios at a steady pace and they are slowly but surely becoming a real powerhouse on the creative side.
Add on top a big push towards Game Pass, an amazing service that I recently subscribed to again. I wanted to play Sniper Elite 4 from Rebellion and instead of buying it, I was just able to go into that massive library and download it, play it for free and finish it within days. I got games like Untitled Goose Game and Blair Witch lined up for the next few weeks. Their infrastructure is great and while not saying Playstation now is not great, I just love Game Pass more.
In all fairness, I do play more on my Xbox One in comparison to my Playstation but still a lot less than my Nintendo Switch. I am such a doofus when it comes to my love for Nintendo, I just love their IP and almost every series they make. When you compare games on all three consoles. I always felt it was the battle between Microsoft and Sony with Nintendo just doing their own stuff. It was like Nintendo was the perfect companion for either of the two others.
Now back to my impression that Microsoft will rule the gaming world. They are doing all the leg work, getting studios signed, building massive infrastructures, building communities, … They are basically being run from the perspective of how a gamer would do it. With love for the games.
They have also been very open in regards to certain information being given about the new console. We know what it will look like, we know the developers have dev kits, … Compared to Sony, we know tons. I can not shake the feeling that this shroud of mystery is currently hurting Playstation 5, no known price, no known design, just some vague comments about backward compatibility and the insides of the console.
Meanwhile, on the Xbox side, it was properly confirmed that it will support every game that is currently working on Xbox One. This means all the games currently available on Xbox One and all the games out on the Backwards compatibility program for OG Xbox and the 360. Existing Xbox One owners will basically be keeping their entire library of games. Every single one of them. In my personal case, a little over 100 games now. For the record, at the time of me writing this piece, there were 572 games in the program.
Needless to say, parents will get a kick out of this as their kids will have the chance to keep their existing libraries. From a monetary point of view, parents can just go in on the console and not be forced to buy several games. The Xbox One has tons of great games and when you add up everything, more and more do I feel like I will skip out Playstation 5 as a year one purchase and yes Series X will be a day 1 purchase.
Who knows, I may even go for a two brands household for a time. Maybe if Sony decided to finally share some decent information instead of keeping everything to themselves. It is the complete opposite when you look at how they announce games. Games are announced years in advance and then one day you get the game.
In all honesty, I really wonder how Microsoft will handle the Game Pass for the new console. If they actually keep the same principle and price point, I may end up prepaying a few years and just sit back and enjoy all the games and just buy the ones I want to really own instead of just hoarding. Microsoft is making me change my way of thinking, I am evolving from a hoarder of games to someone who once again truly enjoys them.
Gaming is about having fun and I think Microsoft is on that mindset and that alone is why they will win the hearts of gamers in the next generation. By standing side by side with gamers to make our experiences even better. They really care about us, I honestly feel that. It is also why I think Microsoft will win the next console wars if you can even call it that way anyway.
