On the heels of the PS5 Pro reveal, multiple analysts reckon the PS6 and next-gen Xbox will return to and perhaps surpass the $600 mark that Sony and Microsoft have already hit with recent hardware.
Speaking with GamesBeat, analysts Mat Piscatella of Circana and Rhys Elliot of Midia Research discussed the shifting price brackets for new game consoles. The $700 PS5 Pro is the new peak for a 'normal' console, albeit a beefier mid-gen refresh, but Xbox has a $600 console of its own in the Galaxy Black special edition Xbox Series X, which is nearly identical to the $500 version under the hood. Microsoft served up three new consoles this year, in fact, and said it's "hard at work on the next generation."
Piscatella argues that rising console prices are partly a function of, "looking specifically at the US," the console marketing being "mature," meaning the audience itself isn't expanding much anymore and spending is relatively static. "Meaning, in order for hardware spending to grow, higher pricing will likely have to be part of the equation," he says.
"Long story short, yes, I'm expecting prices on new console hardware to continue to increase," Piscatella adds. "We've now seen that (previously a bit radioactive following the PS3's pricing announcement way back when) $599 threshold reached or broken by both PlayStation and Xbox, so I certainly won’t be surprised if we see that again."
Elliot expects "to see the PS6 and Xbox’s next-generation consoles retailing at $600, at least," and reckons "PlayStation is clearly testing the waters with its PS5 Pro pricing." As a way to make the pricey upgrade more appealing – analyst Daniel Ahmad says Niko Partners predicts that only 10% of total PS5 sales will end up being Pros – he says "Sony would be shrewd to market the console as 'the best way to play Grand Theft Auto 6.'"
"A PS5 Pro bundled with GTA 6 would work even better," Elliot adds. "Sony released special-branded PS4 Pros for first-party games (Spider-Man) and third-party ones (Monster Hunter), so we can expect a similar strategy for the PS5 Pro." GTA 6 is certainly positioned to sell consoles. One former GTA dev expects GTA 6 to sell "for 10+ years" much like its predecessor, and Piscatella has previously described the game as probably the most "important thing to ever release in the industry."
The PS3 is still Sony's most expensive console adjusted for inflation, but unlike the $700 PS5 Pro it didn't charge $110 extra for a disc drive and stand. As it happens, today Sony revealed that the PS5 Pro is getting a gorgeous PS1 gray 30th anniversary edition in a "highly limited supply" of 12,300 units, and there's no way it's going to be less than $1,000.
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