While we do now know much more about the PS5 and the Xbox Series X than we did just a few months ago, some of the most important things that will affect the purchase decisions of most people haven’t yet been revealed by Sony and Microsoft. One of those is price, which has been a pretty hot point of discussion for both consoles, especially in light of the powerful hardware they both have on offer- and especially with the current economic disruptions being a factor.
According to a new report published by analyst firm Ampere Analysis, analyst Piers Harding-Rolls predicts that both the PS5 and the Xbox Series X will be priced in the region of $450-$500. The report also goes on the mention that an economic recession – that might very likely happen, given current circumstances – will inevitably affect sales of both consoles, but that that affect will only start emerging one the initial surge of launch sales for both systems has passed.
Additionally, the report also predicts that thanks to the support for backward compatibility in both consoles and the fact that most third party publishers will be releasing cross-gen games for the foreseeable future, many consumers might not feel the need to upgrade to next-gen hardware just yet.
Another recent report by Bloomberg stated mentioned a similar price range for both consoles, while also stating that due to constrained productions lines, Sony will probably be releasing limited PS5 units during its first few months. Read more on that through here. Sony themselves have suggested that they haven’t yet settled on a price for the console.
On the Microsoft end of the spectrum, Xbox boss Phil Spencer recently acknowledged that the Xbox Series X’s pricing will be a critical factor, and said that that is something Microsoft are going to remain flexible about leading up to launch.
