What price are you comfortable with new consoles being released at?

[Aidy]

To me the second comment still sounds like an absolute statement but if you're saying it wasn't then I accept that.

[Zeno]

"I just personally don't see the point of spending that much on a console. The only reason to buy console over PC these days is the exclusive titles, but there would be less exclusive titles if people stopped buying the consoles to play them."

Perhaps you missed the part right before that where I was talking from my own perspective. If the topic is posed as an opinion question, the responses are inherently based on opinion.

The question was "What price are you comfortable with new consoles being released at?" not "At what price is the value of a new console?"

[Aidy]

Perhaps you could go into more in depth on how I am wrong about my opinion. I'm not sure how the value of a console to me is to be dictated by someone else.

If you had said "The only reason I would buy a console over PC these days is the exclusive titles" then your response would be valid. However you actually said "The only reason to buy console over PC these days is the exclusive titles". That statement applies to everyone, not just yourself.

[Zeno]

Wrong. That myth has been extensively debunked on other threads.

Perhaps you could go into more in depth on how I am wrong about my opinion. I'm not sure how the value of a console to me is to be dictated by someone else.

[boozie2600]

I am a PC guy and my PCs are usually in the $2500 range but I occasionally pick up a console. I just got the XB1 for myself on black friday, so I suppose I wouldnt begridge $300 range for a console.. Unless its that SoujaConsole... I could pay $500 easy for that hottnesssss

[Aidy]

You seem like a bit of a fanboy my dude

What a strange thing to hear from someone who has come into a thread explicitly about consoles to simply tell us all that we must be afraid of computers, that PCs are better. You don't think you sound like the fanboy? What have I said in here that sounds fanboyish? I have two PCs and 5 consoles and I simply correct people when they talk garbage. Me correcting someone for talking garbage doesn't make me a fanboy, it makes the person who was talking garbage a fanboy.

[Aerrae]

That or being afraid of a computer.
Rich Review tech shows you how to build a PC for 400-600 dollars that runs a little better than a PS4 pro.

Convenience in consoles isn't a thing anymore. They update, they download, they have HDD's now or SSD's if you want to pop one in and make them faster.
It's cheaper than a PC but if you're willing to shop smart you can get a PC that's better for 100-300 dollars more if you want better fps and graphics.

You seem like a bit of a fanboy my dude. The argument is very nuanced. If you absolutely will not pay more than 400 then yeah, get a console and forget it. If you're okay paying about 600, you can grab a slightly older office computer for like 100-200 dollars with an I5 cpu, then just add add more ram/pop in a 1060, and a new PSU. (Depending on GPU prices esp ofc) So cost is not necessarily a big deal, it really depends on whether you care about fps and grapihcal potential.

I personally wouldn't buy a console without the exclusives. I'm perfectly patient enough to save up the money for a PC. If I can do it, anyone can. I make 860 a month and 200 of that is gone to rent.

[Aidy]

The only reason to buy console over PC these days is the exclusive titles

Wrong. That myth has been extensively debunked on other threads.

[Zeno]

I am firmly in the $400 range. I just personally don't see the point of spending that much on a console. The only reason to buy console over PC these days is the exclusive titles, but there would be less exclusive titles if people stopped buying the consoles to play them.

[Aidy]

It's not that I don't like Nintendo games, I have a 3DS XL and I love it, I play the likes of Bravely Default, Pokemon etc when I'm on the train, but I wouldn't sit in my living room and play that kind of game, for that I want something with a bit more depth and maturity.

The point on diversity is a fair one, though, if all games were on all consoles then you're right in that it would make it harder for the consumer to know what to buy and we may end up in a monopoly which is rarely good for anyone.

[tejotl (Polish Bear)]

comfort zone would be between equivalent of 400-500 USD. If the machine runs all previous generations (talking about Playstation specifically) I'm happy to pay more. Also after experiencing PS4 vs PS4 Pro difference I'm prepared to pay more for a highier tier version (assuming it actually makes a difference)

[Merlin]

Nintendo is the exception rather than the norm though. Exclusivity is their entire business model, it's central to everything they do. It would be terrible if every manufacturer behaved the way Nintendo do, I think they get away with it as they've kinda cornered the kiddie market, for want of a better description. So I can kinda deal with not playing Xenoblade, I'm not going to buy a console for that one game when every other game on the system is Mario or Zelda or other games I'm not interested in.

I'm also surprised the game producers want exclusivity too, you'd think the more consoles the more money for them, so there must be some financial (or simply legal) goings on behind the scene that make it sustainable for the producers to stick to a single console.

yes they pulled ahead because their in house development teams are really good and they've made great and memorable games over the years. I'll be honest, if the new Halo game proves to be every bit as good as the Bungie years(which I do not expect in the slightest), I would buy an Xbox1. I would have one now if Halo 5 hadn't undone everything that made Halo what it was.

I'm sure God of War moved a lot of Playstation consoles too. I think its fine that you just don't like nintendo games, but that is the point, you have options.

Game developers an exclusivity comes down to two things. Who is your boss or what deals were made. I think that exclusivity is fine and can be healthy. Nintendo is the first example. The boss of the people making mario are Nintendo, so thus they keep it on Nintendo consoles to sell Nintendo consoles and make money twice over. So they offset the cost of not having mario everywhere by selling consoles too. Then there are indeed deals made. Halo again, is one I know well. They made a deal with microsoft to make Halo a launch title for the xbox. Good move for both parties involved. The xbox sold well for Halo, and Bungie made big money from their great game and the money offered to them. Then of course they got more financial support for their following Halo games too for the deal. Originally it was going to be a game for the mac. Imagine that. Then you have another Nintendo example with Bayonetta(this happens a lot with amazon and tv shows too). Platinum games was going to shutdown, but Nintendo offered to take them in if they made more Bayonetta for Nintendo only. It saved a niche genre title from eating the dust, and the cult following behind the title I'm sure are greatful it isn't dead(I don't know for sure). So it can be a good way to keep things running.

While I used to be more hardline on exclusivity being bad, I realized it helps keep the market diversified too. In the end if everything was multiplatform, then it would come down to one thing which console was the best? Eventually one console would take over. Then there would be a monopoly, a single console, and then we'd have a real problem. With a monopoly you have no reason to try to push the limits. This was Intel until AMD made a good CPU again in 2016. Intel was making fewer and fewer improvements while charging high prices for their CPUs because they had something like %80 marketshare. Now they are finally trying to be inventive again for the first time in nearly a decade.

I agree, it can be upsetting not to have access to ALL the games you want to play because of platform exclusivity, but it isn't always so simple. I wish it was. I hope I helped you understand why it isn't all bad. Because it isn't, and thinking it is all bad feels bad.

[Aidy]

This is sort of why consoles need exlcusives in some ways. Because at the end of the day, even if the Switch had been $400 I wanted to play zelda. I wanted to play xenoblade chronicles 2 and I will want to play Animal Crossing among others that will come.

Nintendo is the exception rather than the norm though. Exclusivity is their entire business model, it's central to everything they do. It would be terrible if every manufacturer behaved the way Nintendo do, I think they get away with it as they've kinda cornered the kiddie market, for want of a better description. So I can kinda deal with not playing Xenoblade, I'm not going to buy a console for that one game when every other game on the system is Mario or Zelda or other games I'm not interested in.

I'm also surprised the game producers want exclusivity too, you'd think the more consoles the more money for them, so there must be some financial (or simply legal) goings on behind the scene that make it sustainable for the producers to stick to a single console.

[Merlin]

This is sort of why consoles need exlcusives in some ways. Because at the end of the day, even if the Switch had been $400 I wanted to play zelda. I wanted to play xenoblade chronicles 2 and I will want to play Animal Crossing among others that will come.

For a general use gaming machine, it has to be affordable. So yes in the $300 price range is about where I would cut it off assuming it is powerful enough.The xbox1 and PS4 were in an awkward position because even on launch they left people saying "thats it?" with the cost for the specs. There is a reason they released improved half step versions like how nintendo has done in the past.

I think the only reason more people bought consoles in 2016 and 2017 is that GPU prices were bad and they went up instead of down, and there was no new line up until Nvidia's RTX 20xx dissapointment, and again, prices are awful. So with that in mind, consoles are appealing again. The 2010-2014 era was a good time to get into PC gaming because many parts were affordable. I'm still rocking a 2x8GB kit of DDR3 RAM that I bought for less than $50. And it was a good one too, not those bare bones ones. So you see how the market is kind of rough again. I built a non gaming PC, a special build and it came out to nearly $700(taxes included). THE PSU was super expensive, so that is why. But the cost can add up quick.

On the other hand you have still nintendo 2DS systems that you can buy new for $80 with a game. If you are a poor family with kids, this is a god send. When I was a kid this is when I got a gameboy pocket and I remember it costing $50, but I don't know. Still it was a cheap console with much cheaper games than a tv console. So you have to give credit to that.

I do believe that the ultimate factor is how good is that game you want to play, and what one time price tag will you want to eat in order to play it? For a multi-plat title maybe you choose what the cheapest option is, or maybe you are willing to spend more on a high quality PC. Then the exclusives. Maybe you want to play a game only on PC, or the latest romp in a light hearted Nintendo game. Perhaps you have some interest in a selection of Playstation exclusive games though. That is the ticket, so the price has to intersect with the level of interest a person has with the games available on the platform. I would be lying if I didn't say I'd love to have a linux OS computer, but I like the programs I use on windows. It is the same thing in a sense.


On the flip side, would you spend $200 on a system that had better specs than any other console if it didn't have a single game you wanted to play? The intersect of price and the games you want to play is a balancing act.

Food for thought I suppose. Cheers lads.

[Mike]

Here's my take as Brit...

I only ask that the price is based on the actual exchange rate and not $300 = £300 as it's always been in the console market...however the price will probably increase even more when the £ becomes worth less than the dollar..

Ie. a $300 console SHOULD cost around £220. Not £300.

However even £220 is too much. I'm happy to wait for YEARS until I can buy a Switch for less than £100.