Next-generation consoles are almost upon us. Both Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 are coming before the end of the year – the new Xbox is now due for November – which means we are no more than three months away from having new consoles in our hands. Despite that, we still do not know exactly when they will arrive, and more remarkably how much they will cost. But you do not have to look so far back to wait for this information to be unusual.
Nintendo Switch launched on March 3, 2017, but it was not until January 12 – less than two months earlier – that Nintendo shared a price as a release date. That’s 50 days before launch! It’s wild to think that news came so late in the game, but that did not stop the Switch from selling out when pre-orders were announced just hours after the date and price (although there were some available at launch ). Similarly, the price of Xbox 360 was not announced until mid-August, just three months before launch.
I have seen people continue to express dismay that such critical details about PS5 or Xbox remain unknown at this late stage. And I get it: Who can forget PS3’s “Five Hundred and Ninety Ninety Dollars” at E3 2006, five months before release? We heard about prices for PS4 and Xbox One back to back during E3 in June 2013, again, five months before they hit store shelves. While this year may not have seen E3, we have already received events from both Sony and Microsoft that have effectively served as substitutes for their usual E3 press conferences, and yet these details have been unknown since mid-August.
PS5 and Xbox Series X will sell out at launch, despite their exact release dates and prices. Offer restrictions are always the big hurdle for a big new console launch, and that’s sure to be the case again this fall, Halo Infinite or not.
Sony and Microsoft play something of a cat-and-mouse game, but they reach a point where they have no choice but to announce prices. As Mat Piscatella of NPD points out, retailers need to have this information to open pre-orders and generally handle the logistics of selling a new piece of hardware. Once retailers begin to receive this information, it will leak unexpectedly, so it is likely that both companies intended to make an announcement around the time retailers are informed.
At some point, retail hardware allocations need to be blocked. Sellers need to know how much they need to sell, and how much they need to spend to get the inventory. Once that happens, prices will go up. But we come late in the game, retail needs to know.
– Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) August 3, 2020
Unless manufacturers want to move hardware stock to their own online storefronts, this is … ……… ..
– Mat Piscatella (@MatPiscatella) August 3, 2020
Piscatella is also intriguing about the prospect of Sony and Microsoft wanting to focus on selling the systems through their own online stores. Of course, that may not sit well with retail partners, and there is already some question as GameStop – which famously refused to sell the all-digital Xbox One S model – will carry the PS5’s Digital Edition, which does not have a disc drive has and thus is cutting back on GameStop’s lucrative used gaming business.
We’ve made our own predictions for how much the Xbox Series X and PS5 will cost, with many of us here at GameSpot expecting them to come around the $ 500 mark. The real wild card will be the not yet announced Xbox Series S and just how low Microsoft decides to push its price. The purpose of that system will certainly be to lower the price of both Series X and PS5, but it can only make that announcement effective if we know what those confirmed consoles will cost.
Somehow, we’ll soon find out about pricing, and if we do, it’s going to have to come up with other announcements. Exciting times lie ahead.
