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Many things are up in the air for this next gen.

If you are a believer in Switch is current gen then Switch either has a real chance to come close to PS4 (might even beat it in the longer tail) or has a chance to come close to PS4+XBONE.

If you are a believer in Switch is next gen then Switch has a massive head start and nothing short of a miracle will probably have XBOXS+PS5 > NS before NS is replaced.

Other than that nonsense, there are some real interesting changes and happening going on. For one, the Switch has been established as a wildly successful formula. Yet neither of the other two console makers seem interested in trying to compete with that (perhaps realizing that they probably can't and maintain their dedicated home console base).  Perhaps they are also realizing that the market for a hybrid is a very tricky one.  Nintendo has already released a Switch Lite.  When might they release a Switch Heavy?  I think it is entirely up in the air that a single Hybrid alone is competitive with a single Home Console or a single Handheld.

We are finally witnessing the transition to full digital offerings which I think potentially marks this next gen as the last gen that offers optical drive consoles. Both MS and SONY are playing that game slightly different. Microsoft's digital only offering is not only the cheapest but also the least powerful of the two, making it's optical offering the only way to play their games at full power. SONY on the other hand is just cutting their buy in price by 1/5 but still offering full power for the pure digital version. I'm not sure how other players will respond to this, but if I were paying full price up front and going digital I would prefer SONY's offering (this does not take into account games, this would be if all games 1st and 2nd party went to both).

However, there is another wrinkle here. MS is offering _very_ good value no interest monthly payment options to buy into either of the XBOXSs. Game Pass Ultimate costs $359.76 (USD) over the course of 24 months. Buying an XBOXSS on that plan saves nearly $60 on the total costs (599.76 vs 658.76). Buying an XBOXSX is much less so saving less than $20. Unless you plan to buy an XBOXS(S/X) and then sell it within 24 months you'd be practically crazy not to use the payment plan option (I know plenty will go traditional anyway, for many reasons, I know). Regardless of the savings to the player, MS is throwing money at this next gen for the first 24 months to fix the bad showing they've had the last couple years. The more people use the monthly payment plan the more up front losses per console MS has until the 24 months are up.  Of course MS has tons more money at their disposal than either of the other two combined.

For people who are interested in playing lots of games (current and next gen) at mainstream resolutions (4k is not yet mainstream imo) XBOXSS is a no brainer. 100 games right away, next gen MS Studio games as part of the package. I think many people could snap that up. Lower prices open up the market to more and more people. $299, payment plan or no, is Nintendo Switch territory. Of course Nintendo has the Switch Lite at even lower, however that is handheld only and has a different market.

I could say more about how I think the market is anything but stabilizing. The Switch is getting long in the tooth home console wise and due for a refresh there. If there is no Switch Pro, when will Switch 2 come and how many gens ahead will Nintendo be by the time PS6 and XBOX69420 comes out? Microsoft just bought a major studio owner that could, after current contracts play out, shift many people towards XBOXS for some exclusives. SONY could be in for a minor repeat of their PS3 where they are not in tune with where the market is and has to scramble to keep up. More and more gaming is happening _outside_ the handheld/console market. Tablets and Phones continue to erode the handheld/console market. Microsoft is the only real company pushing hard into that space, SONY is only just offering some of their 1st party onto the PC/tablet/phone. Nintendo slips further and further behind in online. Etc, etc.

Again, my conclusion is I don't think the market is stabilizing and I don't think anyone's foothold is assured.

Last edited by dharh - on 29 September 2020

A warrior keeps death on the mind from the moment of their first breath to the moment of their last.