PS5 Coming at the End of 2020 According to Analyst: High-Spec Hardware for Under $500

[DonFerrari]

Mr Puggsly said:

CGI-Quality said:

Even a $599 console will struggle with it (at least at a constant). 4K should be a breeze on its own, though. So, I agree, to a degree, with both of you. But then, I'm one of those who would buy a $600 console (again), so you're right. The market for it is there.

So long as there is a base option, all should be fine.

Well the $599 option isn't supposed to thrive in the same way as the base model. Its for people who want high visual fidelity and willing to pay a premium and it makes the visual disparity between console and PC less significant. Ideally I would like RAM and CPU to be equal so the base model games don't suffer outside of GPU limitations. Just make sure base model are equipped with significant RAM and CPU capabilities that should be needed for the 9th gen.

Here's a question though, how much better can a $399 PS5/new Xbox be compared to the current $499 (sometimes $399) Xbox One X? MS made a great machine with the X1X and it might make the base units of the 9th gen underwhelming. Hence, for a significant visual boost in the 9th gen we might need premium consoles at launch.

I think the premium also needs more CPU and RAM to par up with the GPU and not get you some bottlenecks.

Mr Puggsly said:

DonFerrari said:

only problem on base console is that it holds the premium down, but it's a trade-off we need to accept.

I don't think it really matters if the premium hardware can still improve the presentation/performance.

I mean we could argue the Xbox One X is held back significantly by the Xbox One S. However, there is a still massive disparity between them. The disparity is so huge in some games that it doesn't feel like X1X is being held back at all.

I agree X1X is doing great and the X1 holding it back isn't as major as it could. But some games and designs aren't made because they wouldn't run right on the base console.

Robert_Downey_Jr. said:

DonFerrari said:

GoW and Detroit are for very different demographics, just see the 3x (or more) sales difference between them. Sure a lot of us bought the 2 and could have a little more spacing between them, but that isn't a big issue. Although on launch it is good to have space.

Well I'm thinking mindshare and advertising wise it's just better to evenly space things.  Plus Sony is great about stacking exclusives until a console is dead but they could honestly do that a little less and I'd still consider their support wonderful.  They had Sly 4, Puppeteer, GT6, TLoU, and Beyond 2 Souls in 2013 for PS3.  Now do I want them to abandon their previous gen console and have nothing for it in its last years like Xbox did last gen?  No.  But do I think stuff like Puppeteer and Sly 4 could have done better as the new gen titles and could GT6 have been their definitive next gen racing game in 2014 and therefore helped sales even more?  Yes.

I understand your point and there is merit to it. But remember that sometimes releasing near isn't diving the mindshare, it can be used to expose more the game with less mindshare and get some aditional sales.