We’ve already reported on how the PS6 – due out in 2027 – is expected to be less powerful than Microsoft’s next-gen Xbox, but that difference is going to come at a significant cost it seems.
Earlier this week, in an interview with Mashable about the new ROG Xbox Ally X handheld, Xbox boss Sarah Bond talked a little more about the organisation’s upcoming hardware plans.
She said:
“The next-gen console will be a very premium and high-end curated experience. You’re starting to see some of the thinking we have in this handheld, but I don’t want to give it all away.”
It’s already sounding pretty pricey from the phrasing “very premium and high-end curated experience”, eh? Boutique, even!
Now, writing on X (or Twitter), hardware snoop KeplerL2 has weighed in with his price predictions for the PS6 compared to the next Xbox.
“$600 vs $1,200 is my guess,” he said.
It’s worth noting this is purely his own speculation, but he goes on to explain his thinking.
He added:
“42% more silicon, 20% more memory, higher board [and] cooling costs, plus they can’t subsidise the hardware with third-party store support.”
Indeed, it’s rumoured that the next Xbox will effectively be a Windows PC, and therefore will include access to competing storefronts, such as Steam, GOG, and Epic Games Store.
For those who don’t know, consoles historically have built their business around the concept of a walled garden.
Sony, for example, has always sold its systems at a loss or break-even in order to grow its install base and make money through the sales of software, where it takes a 30% cut on each game sold.
With the next Xbox effectively opening up to any PC-based storefront, it’ll cease to have the advantage of a walled garden, and thus that’s expected to increase the price of its console.
Obviously, it’s becoming increasingly likely that Sony and Microsoft now have very different aims.
The PS6 is looking like another mass market device just like its predecessors, while it strikes us the next Xbox is going to be a lot more niche and aimed at a very specific demographic.
It’s going to be fascinating to see how this all plays out, isn’t it?
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