The Xbox One X is, hopefully, going to help Microsoft regain some advantage in the console wars- that is how the narrative goes. After all, it will be a more powerful system than the competition, and being able to play multiplatform games better should give it some leg off, right? Even if its exclusive situation remains problematic?
Wed bush Securities analyst Michael Pachter certainly does not think so. In an interview with GamingBolt, he noted that the high price of the Xbox One X prevents it from getting any kind of meaningful market penetration. ‘I don’t think so at this price, I think it’s too expensive,’ he said. ‘And everything is relative obviously, and you always hear these false equivalencies about what things cost… so you’ll hear things like “Xbox One X is cheaper than a big screen TV”, but my big screen TV will be useful for 10 years or more, and when I am done with it, it’ll still find use in my guest bedroom.
‘So I think $500 is a lot, and I think we’ve been trained since at least the PlayStation, and probably since before then – I don’t actually remember what the NES was at launch – that $300 is the price point people are willing to pay. And Microsoft started this $400 price point with the Xbox 360, Sony of course made the mistake of pricing the PS3 at $600. PS4 was $400,and quickly dropped to $300… I just think people are willing to pay $300 for a console, but not $500, $500 is way too much. And given that you frequently see Xbox One S and PS4 Slim discounted to $249, or at $299 with a good game bundled, the perceived price for both is $250, regardless of the sticker price.’
He did mention that the Xbox One X is technically a future proofed purchase… but that just drives its price point higher, since those who want to leverage its 4K capabilities will also have to buy a 4KTV to go with it, which drives its effective cost further upwards.
‘An Xbox One X costs as much as an Xbox One S and PS4 Slim combined- so if you don’t have an Xbox One yet, any kind, why would you buy a One X instead of a One S, and a PS4 to go with it too? I just don’t get it. I don’t think they are doing themselves any favour at this price point. I know they are selling the appeal of 4K, but let’s be real, probably fewer than 10% of US households have a 4KTV, and certainly way less than that in any other developed country. So who is waiting for this? Next year, maybe around the end of 2017, we’ll probably be closer to 20% US households, and 10% for the rest of the world. And by the end of 2018, we’ll probably be at 35% and 20% respectively, and by 2019, we’ll probably be at 50% and 30%. So yes, it’s a more relevant purchase down the line, but… at $500, if I had only that money in my pocket, and I had to choose between an Xbox One X and a 4KTV, I wold buy a 4K TV. So, they’re only appealing to people who have $1100, because they have to buy a TV as well. This is the same problem Oculus faced. I really think the Xbox One X will not do well.’
Thoughts on Pachter’s statements? Let us know in the comments section below.
