The immediate question after Microsoft’s dramatic DRM u-turn last night revolved around what impact the reversal will have on the PlayStation 4. Sony milked its pro-consumer policies during E3 2013 last week, but now that the Redmond-based firm has responded, does that put the Japanese giant’s next generation console in a weaker position? Edward Woo, senior research analyst at Ascendiant Capital Markets, doesn’t believe that much has changed.
“I think that this is a big move by Microsoft,” he told EDGE magazine. “They obviously felt that things were turning badly against them, and now they don’t have a choice but to match Sony. While this levels things more, I still think that Sony, with the $100 price advantage and goodwill from the Microsoft mess, still has the upper hand.”
Woo believes that both the PS4 and Xbox One will sell around two million units this year – but he expects Sony’s console to pull ahead in 2014. Meanwhile, IHS Screen Digest’s senior principal analyst and head of games Piers Harding-Rolls thinks that the impending battle will now depend entirely on price and games.
“We believe that price will be the biggest differentiating feature, and have slightly adjusted down our Xbox One sales expectations for continental Europe at launch based on the €100 gap in pricing,” he said. “It was clear that Microsoft needed to do something to douse the flames of discontent, and the u-turn means that early adopters can now make a straight purchase decision based on content, price, and features between the Xbox One and PS4.”
Microsoft’s made clear this morning that it won’t adjust the price of its system, but it made similar comments about DRM just a few days ago. Should it actually stay put, though, Woo reckons that the company is going to have a difficult time justifying the added expense of its platform. “I think that the consoles are very similar, so the $100 price difference will now be very important,” he continued. “Microsoft will have to explain why the $100 is worth the price.”
[source edge-online.com]
Comments 10
Yes, that $100 was an extra game and a controller for my PS4.......X1 I would be stuck with the base system.....its a big difference in spending.
ahahah, Sony should know with the ps3 being $600
Why would they change the price? Didn't they say this week that the Xbox one has "thousands of dollars in value?"
@ztpayne7 They also said the power of the cloud would make always online gaming worth it
That $100 is for the manditory Kinect, of course. You know, that device nobody wants packed in with the console in the first place.
Keeping the $499 price is to ensure the $299 subscription based deal will look like a good bargain, even though people will end up paying more, just like with cell phones.
Marketing will help dictate the winner. The WiiU kiosks are blue, white and barely noticable in Target. The 3DS kiosk just updated the great Luigi design to a "what are you playing this summer" design. And I bought a Pokemon X $1 card while I was there. Still havent seen a Pikmin 3 card, or hardly any other pre-order WiiU cards.
MS has money for commercials and ads and they'll use it. Sony needs to keep pace.
Well why would anybody want the weird copycat corp even if they drop the price/kinnect. From an investor standpoint, they've mucked it up for themselves already by being wish-washy about what their upcoming product will even feature. They're probably gonna rename the stupid thing too.
A lower price is one thing but the damage thats already been done is a whole nother can of worms. The fact that they had the guts to do it in the first place and the way they handled things, everything from the damage control to sticking their nose up at the military, says a lot about their values as a company. The military is a huge deal for a lot of people so that alone is a huge shot in the foot.
@Stuffgamer1
Amen!
PS4 + Camera = $460, so you will have $40 to a game or extra controller (you will need to put down $10 for Extra controller).
Looking forward to pick up my PS4
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