The next-gen Xbox won’t cost you $1,800. It can’t. Can it?
Reports suggest the next-generation Xbox could cost between $1,200 and $1,800, sparking debate over the viability of such high-end hardware. Analysts argue that Microsoft would likely need to adopt new business models or subsidies to make the console accessible to mass audiences.
Why it matters
This reflects the tension between rising hardware manufacturing costs and the need for affordability in the consumer gaming market.
Fortune dropped a bombshell report on the future of gaming this week. According to the publication’s Microsoft insiders, the next Xbox is projected to cost between $1,200 and $1,800 when it arrives in 2028.
My first reaction: The next Xbox is dead on arrival. It’s DOA.
My second thought: Microsoft knows people won’t pay that much. It couldn’t possibly charge that much money if it wants next gen to be a success. “I wouldn’t release it at all,” former Microsoft exec Mike Ybarra recently said.
My third thought: Didn’t Microsoft already say out loud that it knows people won’t pay that much?
* Didn’t old Xbox boss Phil Spencer say “We’re not going to grow the market with $1,000 consoles”?
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