Now that we have seen the actual next-generation console hardware and had their manufacturers crowbar our jaws open, it is time to consider how much we'll have to dish out in order to remain cutting-edge gamers.
Following the exuberance of the big-three console launch events during E3, we were all left with the impression that the price tags accompanying the next-generation of consoles will be significant. It turns out that although that will be the case things will not be as bad as initially predicted.
Before E3 it was assumed that Nintendo's Revolution may be the cheapest of the three new consoles since the company has never launched a new console for more than USD 230. On launch GameCube cost USD 230 and was the cheapest of the three current generation gaming consoles while currently the GC remains the cheapest at USD 130. During E3 Satoru Iwata, Nintendo's president, took a stab at the other two major manufacturers by claiming that he plans to ...keep the Revolution at a price range that anyone can reach out for, and nothing as high as 50,000 yen (USD 463).
Microsoft's XBox 360 remains a mystery as far as pricing is concerned. Microsoft has had to deal with a variety of pricing issues in the current generation of consoles and was involved in negotiations of Machiavellian proportions. That alone suggests that this time round MS will have a lot more flexibility with its console pricing but a 3-processor R500-powered piece of hardware is unlikely to launch for under USD 350. The original XBox carried a USD 325 price tag on launch but has since reached the, more reasonable, USD 165 mark, contributing greatly to the large loss of Microsoft's gaming division. Some recent reports by analysts have suggested that XBox 360 may not be able to achieve its USD 350 planned launch price and may retail for USD 400 to begin with.
Anyone attending Sony's E3 Playstation 3 press event would have been impressed by the promises of Teraflops made by the consumer electronics giant but would have also been under the impression that the next-generation console will be priced in body parts and not just an arm and a leg but possibly a kidney and an eyeball; supercomputers after all don't come cheap. New information however, suggests that Sony may be able to compete with Microsoft on price even though it claims that its console is more powerful than its rivals. The new report claims that SCE has informed its business partners that the PS3 will retail for under USD 370 at launch. This is a significant drop from the, initially predicted, USD 450 price tag but fits in nicely with previous Sony Playstation launches since both the PS and PS2 cost USD 368 at launch.
It seems then that Sony and Microsoft may launch their next-generation offerings for around the USD 350-400 mark something which suggests that things will heat up quick. Nintendo's Revolution may remain the cheapest console but it is expected that Microsoft will try and exploit the time advantage it will have by launching XBox 360 in November 2005. First estimates claim that Microsoft will attempt to push 3 million units in Q4, 2005 alone.
