Next PlayStation, Xbox to Cost $350 to $400, Say Analysts

[haswell5271]

I don't know what Sony and Microsoft could possibly do to turn me off from my PC gaming. I used to be a full blown console gamer but the lack of graphical masterpieces and modding support for games like Just Cause 2 has ruined my previous console gaming self. In my opinion there's nothing better than a beautiful game full of fun and quirky mods. Sorry Microsoft, my Xbox 360 S may be shelved for quite a while.

 

[InvalidError]

[citation][nom]keither5150[/nom]High end HDMI...... really? Hmmm.I chuckle just like when someone walks into a glass door.[/citation]
My thought as well. A good $10 HDMI cable gets the job done just about every bit as good as a $100 Monster one. You either get sound and image that is exactly the same or get garbled sound/image/no-sync. No magically enhanced sharpness, the stuff is digital, it either gets through or it doesn't... and the transition from 'does' to 'does not' is usually pretty sharp and obvious.

It is really funny how people still persist in saying they see a difference when BLER tests between HDMI cables prove that both exceed the HDMI spec and are for all technical intents and purposes perfect... if the $10 cable produces 0 block errors, the Monster cable cannot do any better in a technically meaningful manner.

 

[TeraMedia]

I think MSFT is going to surprise this analyst and come out with more than one model. One model is kind of an HTPC / casual gamer box. The other model is a high-end gamer box.

Given the patents and leaks about cable tuners, TV recording, etc. I have to think that MSFT is incorporating these into some future XBOX.

 

[slabbo]

if MS is really going with just off the shelf PC parts like "analysts" say, why do I get the feeling its gonna be Red Ring of Death ver 2. It just doesn't seem like they are doing their homework on the design aspects again, and people would be better off just buying a low end PC.

 

[InvalidError]

[citation][nom]immanuel_aj[/nom]Really now? If they were using high-end PC components they WOULDN'T be able to sell it at $350 - $400. What's wrong with analysts?![/citation]
Simple: mass production.

Whoever wins the GPU design gets guaranteed sales of several million units of a specific part model, which removes a lot of risk, related costs and the "early adopter" tax. Same goes for whoever wins the CPU design, the RAM contract(s), the motherboard contract, the chassis contract, etc.

There are also economies from forgoing the legacy power rails from the PSU and motherboard (it can be an all-12V distribution design except for 5VSB), economies from integrating the GPU onto the motherboard, skipping all the extra internal connectors and cables, sharing heatsinks/heatpipes/fans, not having to do any interoperability testing with any customer-swappable parts, etc.

I have no difficulty imagining how building millions of practically identical relatively high-end PC-consoles can be done around $400. Keep in mind that retail prices on high-end GPUs and CPUs have very little to do with actual production costs and more to do with making enthusiasts eat a larger chunk of the R&D costs. If you ordered 20 million i7-3770 or HD7970 specifically for integration in a proprietary gaming appliance instead of the usual 1k trays generic PC parts, you would likely get much better pricing than retail since your final product does not directly compete against your parts vendors' retail products.

 

[bystander]

[citation][nom]otacon72[/nom]Don't really see what consoles get slammed so much. The 360 came out in what 2005 and it's still going to strong. Try an play a modern game on a circa 2005 PC and it would be comical.[/citation]
Same would be true for a console. The difference is the console doesn't have to play modern games, they play the games the developers tailor to their abilities.

Besides, on low settings, a 2005 computer can play a fair amount of games.

 

[ojas]

well, the PC vs console argument might be over this year. PCs are dead? haha! it's the 90s again folks!

 

[alextheblue]

[citation][nom]Teramedia[/nom]I think MSFT is going to surprise this analyst and come out with more than one model. One model is kind of an HTPC / casual gamer box. The other model is a high-end gamer box.Given the patents and leaks about cable tuners, TV recording, etc. I have to think that MSFT is incorporating these into some future XBOX.[/citation]We already know there are tentative plans for an "Xbox TV" device with casual XBLA-type games and apps, alongside the Next Xbox. Different target markets entirely, it isn't really as simple as "two Xbox models".

 

[Anaxamenes]

Why would you buy a "high end" HDMI cable? Consumer Reports already said that they don't offer anything better than a regular HDMI cable other than astronomical price.

 

[aaron88_7]

[citation][nom]Anaxamenes[/nom]Why would you buy a "high end" HDMI cable? Consumer Reports already said that they don't offer anything better than a regular HDMI cable other than astronomical price.[/citation]
That's kinda like asking why someone would put chrome rims on a Cadillac from 1980, or an exhaust system on a Honda Civic. These things don't have any real practicality, but our economy is based on these sort of moronic purchases.

 

[upgrade_1977]

both companies will be using off the shelf high-end PC components instead of custom hardware that is specific just for their console

LOL, Why not just buy a PC then?