The question of the Xbox One Scorpio’s price is one that continues to loom- we know that Microsoft are building the Scorpio to be the most powerful system ever, so we understand that it can’t necessarily be priced cheap from the off. We also have hints from Xbox boss Phil Spencer, suggesting that the system will be priced like ‘premium’ console, which seems to indicate that it may be a more expensive, higher end SKU put on the market to be sold alongside the standard Xbox One.
But Wedbush Securities analyst Michael Pachter believes that there is a cap to how high Microsoft can price the Scorpio- and that cap is $400. If the Scorpio is priced over that, Microsoft could have a problem. Speaking to Gamertag Radio (via DualShockers), Pachter explained the challenges that currently face Microsoft with the Scorpio.
“Well, I mean, consistent with my criticism of Nintendo- if Microsoft prices this thing higher, they’ve got a problem,” Pachter said. “I know that the guts are pretty powerful, and I know they’re trying to build something that’s a mid cycle upgrade, a huge upgrade over Xbox One. So if the Xbox One is still $300 next Christmas, which I don’t think it will be, they might have the guts to charge more than $399, but I think PS4 is laying the gauntlet down, that’s the price of the PS4 Pro. So, I don’t see Scorpio charging more- if they do, they’re going to have to explain why it’s better. And if Sony’s smart, and they are, PS4 Pro is going to be $349 next Christmas. So, what’s Microsoft going to tell you? ‘You gotta buy ours just in case you buy a 4KTV?’
“Now, the only thing these guys have going for them is that 4KTVs have become what LED TVs became a few years ago. Where when you first got a big screen flat screen TV, it was LCD or plasma, but now you can’t even find LCD or plasma TVs on the market, it’s all 4K. That’s what 4KTVs are going to be in 2-3 years. There’s not going to be a reason to not get a 4KTV by that time. So maybe people will buy a 4KTV and a console that powers games in 4K, but you still need developers to develop 4K games. I think that several games will come be out for launch. So, $399, anything more is asking for trouble.”
I personally agree that the system can’t be priced higher than $400- I believe that’s the cap for how high a system can be and still be appealing to the mass market. As the Xbox One and PS3 have shown us, anything more, and the system simply will not sell. Hopefully, Microsoft remembers this when they decide on their pricing for the Scorpio.