I think the xbox one s is smart in that it can advertise the 4k HDR keywords.  This will get alot of attention in comparisons from the gaming media I think.

If the ps4 slim is in fact the same but smaller I think it will lose out on those PR statements and MS, smartly so, wil mention those aspects often.

price, obviously, plays a part but I think the xbox slim mitigates that and will so vigorously during the holidays with crazy promos.  If the ps4 slim is $249 with no game and the xbox slim is $299 with a game and goodness knows what else gets tossed in I hink price gets trumped from the "hot topic" words like 4k and HDR with 4k tvs starting to be rather affordable now.  

I don't get the 4K hype one bit. IMO it will take another some years before we can achieve high fidelity gfx at 4K or 60fps. May be 4 or 5yrs from now. I am hoping that PS4.5 is mainly for performance boost to run games without frame rate drop and at constant 60fps. I still think PS4 is going to be their priority and PS4.5 add performance rather than anything else. Xbone 2 aka Scorpio I am not sure how Microsoft will handle it. Sony plan we will know soon next month.

I think 360 did have an advantage with DVD price. Although I thought BR is the way to go. This time I am very sure the new PS4 is going to dominate with price drop from the current models.

They can avertise is as an upgraded in power 4k machine and confuse the situation when Sony try and advertise the Neo as a upgraded PS4 4k machine.

If Sony launches at something wild like $199 all bets are off but right now with the xbox s at $299 with a game and having the 4k/HDR buzzwords if the ps4 is $249 and no game it won't look as good.  

Heck, I've seen the xbox s $399 version with 4 games already once.  Wait till the holidays.  

Like already said here I think both models make sense for their respective companies.

Microsoft was real smart to release its slim with UHD drive before Sony at that price. That's why we need competition! 

I think at this point what both companies want is differant, Micro wants to keep winning back trust of players by presentibg them a quality machine, while Sony is looking to expand it's market share by reaching more players who are yet to buy a console and they would preffer a cheap one

Let me just say this, when I buy a gaming console, I'm not buying it for netflix.

While the S is a far more attractive console than its predecessor, I think Sony made the right call focusing on economy for its slim model, not competing with its own Neo in the UHD market. Assuming the guesses are right, a $250 PS4 this holiday will make waves.

I think MS still hasn't learnt their lesson.

With the OG PS4/XB1; sony's message was clear. This is a gaming console pure and simple without any added bells and whistles and will cost you $399. MS went with kinect and TV and ended up with a bloated gaming console that cost $499 and they haven't recovered since.

Now it's happening again. There is the XB1s and the PS4s. One is a "gaming" console that supports HDR and 4k movies/content. And costs $299. The other is just the same old gaming console and will most likely cost $249....

And i think MS is making a mistake again. Price is key, the people that care about 4k content and UHD Blu-ray aren't "budget" minded. Those are the same people willing to spend $399/$499 for a new or scorpio to go along with their new 4k TVs. And their numbers are nothing g compared to the people still on 1080p TV and on a budget.

And by the time those 1080p folks are looking to upgrade to 4k, things like the Neo would probably cost less than $299.

So for me, it's all about the pricing and knowing your market. If MS had just made a smaller XB1 without all the blls and whistles and priced it at $199 to sonys $249.... then they would have had a fighting chance.

The cost reduction enabled by the availability of 16nm lithography could be used in two ways, either shrink the existing design and pass the savings onto the consumer (PS4 slim model), or keep the price the same and add value (XB1 Slim and PS4 Neo).

Sony has to make pricing room for the Neo, if Neo is to be $399 (obvious price point) then PS4 can't be $349. So they've used 16nm to cut costs of the PS4 Slim, and add features (power) to the PS4 Neo. I wouldn't be surprised to see PS4 Slim at $249 and Neo at $399.

MS isn't anywhere near ready to release Scorpio, so they've bet on enticing existing users to upgrade by using the cost reduction to add value to the XB1 Slim by adding 4K Blu-ray support. Overall, both are valid strategies that will help differentiate the PS4 and XB1 from each other and potentially improve the sales of both. PS4 Slim becomes the cheap HD console, XB1 Slim becomes the media console and PS4 Neo becomes the power console until Scorpio arrives late next year.