New rumors about the Xbox Series X price, Xbox Series S, and the Xbox July event are circulating the internet today. According to the rumors, the Xbox Series X will cost $400, and the Xbox Series S will cost $200.
The rumor comes from Beyond3D forum user, Eastmen, who has inside information on the new Xbox consoles. "Last I heard it be half the price of the XSX and last I heard MS were prepared for a $400 XSX. I am not sure what the final price will be. I think if Sony is $500/$600 MS may try to go in at $200/$400/$500 but we will see."
If these prices are accurate, Microsoft would certainly lose money on each console sold. The Xbox Series X is supposed to be the most powerful console ever, and it probably costs a lot to manufacture and mass-produce the new line of Xboxes. The Xbox One X initially launched at $499, and Series X will be more powerful than the One X, so the Series X launch price being less expensive than the One X is surprising. However, Microsoft has been making consumer-friendly moves in the past, by including backward compatibility, launching GamePass, and making sure that Xbox Series X games will play on previous consoles for the first couple of years.
Of course, Xbox has to make its money back on the consoles somewhere if these prices are correct, and Eastmen outlines Microsoft's plan to do that. "MS will make up any losses they take by getting a higher cut of game sales and more subscriptions. Pricing also depends on what Sony does. MS doesn't have to go as extreme in pricing if sony prices itself higher."
Microsoft will unveil more details about the Xbox Series X in July, and Eastmen shares more information about how Microsoft plans to tackle the event.
"July is about the industry and they want it to be a night of mic drops. They are going to come hard with the strategy they have been building up to for years and they want Google, Amazon, Apple, Sony, and yes Nintendo to shaken up. So expect a series of Mic drop moments followed by the price being the key part of all this."
One more interesting tidbit is the Xbox Series S, or codename Lockheart. If the rumors are true, it will be $200, will not have a disc drive, and it will be smaller than people think, according to Eastmen.
"That's why I think Lockheart is a key device in their strategy. Its low-cost gateway that they can control to make sure the hardware can handle their new compression techniques they will employee with Xcloud over the next few years. The plan for Lockheart is to get into price categories they were never able to hit before and I believe based on listening between the lines that they expect Lockheart to at some point make it down to fire tv size. Also, the size of the first Lockheart will surprise everyone."
Microsoft needs to deliver on this upcoming July press conference. Sony unveiled the Playstation 5 last week, and the reception to the conference was overwhelmingly positive. If Microsoft can provide a cheaper next-generation console, and its first-party studios can pump-out quality games to match the Playstation 5, then this will be the most exciting console war for gaming fans.
Source: WCCFTech