Captain_Yuri said:
Well the thing is... It already has a bluray player... So does the ps4 and I doubt UHD bluray players cost much more than the ones both of them currently have. Yea the ones on amazon does but since it is "new," they are just simply cashing it in. It is similar to what happened when DVDs/Blurays were new. You could buy an expensive $300 dvd player or a ps2 that can do the same and more. Considering that the power hasn't increased at all and cheap PC gpus can also do 4k video, it really doesn't cost very much. The console isn't playing games on 4k, just outputting video which pretty cheap hardware can already do. Oh and the x1s of course has weaker hardware than the ps4 which means that the cost is already lower than the ps4/ps4s... And while MS dropping the price is also speculation, it is a more educated speculation based on Microsoft's History and what companies generally do... While it is true that PS4 is the cheapest entry to VR, that is still quite expensive considering it is $800. (Ps4 + PSVR + PSEye) Tons of people already have 4k TVs and 4k TVs will continue to sell. TVs have a bigger impact than VR does for a regular consumer and I highly doubt that will change. So MS will market the x1s as a) The only console with 4k/HDR support and when the Neo comes along, the cheapest console the support 4k and HDR. Again, not saying x1 will suddenly outsell the ps4 but I am saying that the ps4s should have had this. Edited to make the wording better. |
We are having two separate debates here. I'm arguing best value for a gaming console you are arguing best value for entertainment.
As a gaming console 4K won't make a difference to either. A UHD player won't make a difference to either and more importantly, hardly anyone will buy 4K Movies considering how low BR sales are although regular BRs are tons cheaper than UHD BRs.
I agree the option to have 4K output wouldn't have cost a lot, but it looks like they want more tick boxes for the Neo and they want more cost savings on the slim.
The optical drive on the ps4 was around $28 compared to launch ps3's one which cost Sony $66. Sony obviously made their own which MS can't. I wouldn't be surprised if the optical drive for UHD is setting MS back around $40-50. Even at $40 it might not seem like a huge cost, but it increases the overall BOM cost massively. It's probably the 3rd / 4th most expensive component after the gpu and RAM (unless you factor in 1 & 2TB HDD costs).
If you are right and I'm right about the cost of manufactoring PS4`s and X1's as per articles that show the breakdown of costs, the Neo should cost around the same as a launch day ps4 since it's using an old gpu. That will put it in direct competition with 1TB & 2TB X1S models.
As for a drop in price, both can do that around holiday season even if it's just temporary.
You are right about 4K TVs being more common than VR, unless VR becomes a thing, then it all changes. Although that is speculation, what isn't speculation is when the Neo is out, they can advertise it as the cheapest console with 4K, VR gaming and VR photos and VR films. They can also advertise the slim as the cheapest console to offer VR entertainment.
Still agree with you, there is no reason why 4K output couldn't have been included, but it seems they have a simple strategy, out pricing their competition as a gaming device on both ends.
