That's cool and all, and it sounds like it'll be an impressive system, but it's still too vague.
I honestly can't wait to see the full reveal of this system already. Same for the PS5. I want to see what Gen 9 really has in store. Hopefully we'll see something before E3.
As for price, I think the XSX will be $500 at launch. Adjusted for inflation, the PS4's launch price would be about $443, and since the XSX seems to be quite powerful, I think it'll be more than that, but not by a lot. $500 would be a bit less than the inflation-adjusted launch prices of the 20 GB Xbox 360, the Xbox One, the One X, and the PS1, and considerably less than that of the PS3, and only about $50+ more than that of the PS2 & PS4. $500 would not be a bad launch price.
Even if it costs more than $500 to make, MS can afford to take a loss since Xbox is not even close to being their primary source of income. Choosing that price point would put Sony in an unenviable position, especially if the PS5 isn't as strong as the XSX. If there's a significant enough power gap, the PS5 will likely have to launch at $450 to undercut MS. They'd take a slight loss per unit, but could still make up for it with software, accessories, and subscriptions. I think Sony probably would rather debut the PS5 at $500 (I doubt any console maker wants their system to be a loss leader, for obvious reasons), but being at price parity with the XSX (if the XSX does indeed launch at $500) may cause some gamers to decide on an XSX. All MS has to do would be to convince gamers that the XSX is a better value proposition as it's more powerful. And even if Sony undercuts them by $50, they can still say "Yes, the XSX is $50 more, but you get what you pay for."
Charging $500 for the XSX would be a good business and tactical decision for MS.
Last edited by Shadow1980 - on 24 February 2020