How many extra consoles will GTA 6 sell?

[EricHiggin]

Norion said:

EricHiggin said:

Typical inflation or overprinting money inflation? Things aren't so expensive now because of typical inflation. Which also means when things settle back down eventually, everything will become a bit cheaper again. Now it won't go back to being as cheap as 2020, due to typical inflation, but unless SNY wants to repeat the 3rd console curse again and tank PS6 sales, they'll put together the best console they can for $499 and will sell that.

If it seems like an 'underpowered' jump from PS5 Pro, then that's just what its going to be. It's not really going to matter anyway, because PS5 Pro isn't a gigantic leap forward, is too expensive, and isn't going to end up selling like PS4 Pro did by the end of the gen. The only gamers who are really going to be a bit disappointed with a $499 PS6 will be those that spent way too much on a PS5 Pro, for a few extra bells and whistles. PS6 will also have a few more new bells and whistles by 2028, so what's wrong with that, with a launch price of $499?

All you ever hear about is what's wrong with PS5 Pro existing? Whether some people think it's not enough of a jump, or too expensive, or both, who cares if someone else wants the next best thing and is willing to pay for it? Well ok, but then what's wrong with a PS6 that's not really any different, in the sense it's also a smaller jump, with some new bells and whistles, albeit just more affordable this time?

I don't really know what you mean since it being typical or not doesn't mean that $499 isn't worth notably less now compared to a few years ago. The issue is that $599 would probably already mean it's underpowered so $499 would be really underpowered which wouldn't be a significant issue at first but after a few years it'd already be quite outdated and far behind PC gaming.

There's a rumour about a new Playstation handheld happening so I think that being an option alongside a capable PS6 would be a better idea than releasing a weak PS6.

Inflation isn't just one linear thing where you can do 'simple math' and figure out where it will end up exactly. It's more like the weather, where there's a bunch of things at play, constantly varying, and figuring out the result in advance is difficult, but doable to a degree. Inflation doesn't just go up, it can rise 'more than it should' and can fall back down to 'where it should be'.

Even with things being more expensive as time goes on, you have to take into consideration that wages don't line up perfectly with inflation, and typically lag behind it. SNY can't just pick what performance they want, and if that ends up $599, just tell people, too bad, cough it up, that's what we're offering, so it's that or nothing. That's what they basically did with PS3, and we all know how that turns out. In 2028, assuming inflation settles down by then because it should, $499 is still going to be the max price that casuals will be willing to pay for a next gen console. SNY has no choice but to cater to that.

A PS handheld in 2028 won't be PS6 level capable. With software like AMD's FSR4 or beyond, maybe it could reach PS4 Pro to PS5 performance when docked, but then you're still talking $499 for that hardware. Problem with that, is people like me and my friends. If SNY has a $499 handheld/hybrid that's around PS5 performance, and a PS6 that's $599, then if they keep their existing business model of not dropping the prices, then they will lose us as customers. The only way they keep us in that situation, is if they go back to dropping their hardware prices as quickly as possible across the entire gen, which is doubtful at this point. None of us would be interested in a PS5 level handheld hybrid. We want a next gen dedicated home console, and again, assuming inflation settles down by 2028, there's no way we pay more than $499 for a PS6.

As for the, 'PS6 won't be enough of a leap beyond PS5 Pro if it's only $499 in 2028', well, who's fault is that? Plenty of people thought Pro wasn't necessary, or was much too expensive, or that it was just a bad business move based on the future, but SNY went ahead and put it on the market and for $699, without a disc drive, or a stand. Anyone who wanted to pay that much for such a minor leap in performance should've known better if they can't live with a $499 PS6. It's not like they couldn't have known PS5 Pro wasn't a great value unless they were living under a rock.

PS5 Pro was flat out overpriced, and not by a hair either. With a disc drive and stand, then $699 would've been borderline reasonable. With what came in the box, they charged at least $100 more than they should've, if not more. When you take that into account, with a settling of inflation, a $499 PS6 in 2028 doesn't seem that unreasonable. It can still have a decent enough performance upgrade with new bells and whistles, and for a price that the masses will accept.