Why do people think a cheap Xbox Series S will make some kind of difference?

[PS5 Pro]

Microsoft’s next gen strategy doesn’t look any different than their current strategy. Let me explain....

The current thinking now Is that a cheap 1080p Series X retailing at $299 will somehow win the console war for Microsoft due to price alone. First of all, there’s already on the market a cheap Xbox One S, yet it hasn’t outsold the more expensive Xbox One X nor has it done much to stop the PS4 juggernaut, so how will this be any different?

Clearly price isn’t the only deciding factor as we’ve seen from the cheap Switch Lite not outselling the more expensive Switch, nor did the 20gb 499 PS3 outsell the 599 60gb PS3. I can think of a lot of examples in tech where the more expensive product outsells it’s cheaper version. Value, and perception of it is just as, if not more important just price alone.

Another idea is that Gamepass will be a game changer next gen, especially if bundled with the cheap Series S but Gamepass is already a thing and has been for at least 3yrs, but somehow in November this 3yr product will suddenly become a hot service? Why? Are big third parties finally bringing their games on the service day one? Not likely.

Also this idea that we are in a recession and that gamers will become price conscious doesn’t hold weight. Video games have been booming in the last three months during big job losses and lockdowns and I can’t see that changing.

Apart from Xcloud which obviously will be a success but not in the near future, nothing about their next gen strategy is any different than the current one.

I only read up to your first point. And you're so far off that the rest wasn't worth my royal attention

But the xbox one s isn't the cheap model. It's the mid tier model. The base model is the low end. The one s can do hdr and upscale 4k. But ultimately to Microsoft the one s is the base model standard. The xbox series s is an under spec'd base model. So it would be like a weaker xbox one that targeted 900p,60fps and would have no problems hitting it consistently. I'm sure a console like that would of had a place this gen. If that and the one x were the standards starting this gen I suspect things would have played out differently. You can disagree but we'll both find out in a few months

 

[Brief Keef]

great games do end of story...if these nikkas (microsoft) dont realize this by now then they'll never get it and will be content with being in 2nd place and making money off game pass (which as a business is what they wanna do anyway is make money)

 

[Deuterion]

They have no winning strategy as the only gen they were competitive was when Sony dropped later with a more expensive machine that was difficult to develop for first 3 years of its existence. Sony still caught them in the end. They are trying to appeal to the largest demos with low barrier to entry options.

I also think their branding is confusing and it doesn't help to release two boxes at the beginning of a gen. All the crossgen games and with a entry/pro model at launch is really hard to sell needing that 12TF at all. This seems like a mid gen move at launch. They are thinking more is more but we'll see.

...and at that time XBOX had a clear value proposition over the PS3. It had fresh exclusives like Halo, Fable, PGR, GeOW, XBOX Live was the definitive online platform (EVERYONE HAD MICS), they kept the system fresh with UX updates...it launched with the blades and had two updates, the controller was the best in the industry...XBOX was the shyt.

They squandered all that value with the launch of the XBOX One so now they have the same strong competitor who has closed the gap with online services, has a better interface/UX, with a growing library of AAA exclusives, VR, and more. Meanwhile XBOX SX is launching with Halo on life support and not even exclusive...it’s on last gen and PC....smh.

 

[ball15life]

The Arcadium doesn't represent the average consumer though. We are tech savvy people who know more about games and will invest in them more than the average person. People tend to forget that here in the name of console wars.


So you have a family of 4 who may have $1000 budget for Christmas. One of the kids wants a new game system; you think that family is going to spend *possibly* $200 more for them to play COD? Then they find out that they get a free trial of essentially a netflix for games program?



The price of the series S could really be a big deal.

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

OP was right.