After many months, the prices for both next-gen consoles from Sony and Microsoft have finally been confirmed.
So how much money will you need to save up if we want one of these new consoles, let alone both of them? Read on for the battleplan.
BUY NOW:Xbox Series X product page is live on Amazon
We’ve already gone through a history of PlayStation controllers and the history of Xbox controllers, so today let's look at the previous prices from consoles in the last twenty years, up until today...
The PS1 price was a game-changer
It was one of the shortest presentations that you're ever likely to witness - Sony telling the world, very bluntly, that the original PlayStation will cost $299.
That figure basically "won" E3 1995 for Sony, with the micro-presentation having huge ramifications for the gaming industry that we're still feeling today.
For a long while, SEGA had been confident in their price for the new Sega Saturn at $399. But once the Sony Entertainment of America President, Steve Race went up on stage, he stated the PS1 price, sat back down, and the console price war began.
Read more: PS5 vs Xbox Series X controller comparison
PS2 vs Xbox price
In a sense, the console price wars have never gone away since that day. Certainly, the conflict ramped up again when Sega, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo all tried to launch consoles a few years later.
This is how it ended up...
- Dreamcast - £199
- PS2 - £299
- Xbox - £299
- Gamecube - £129
The Dreamcast came out in 1999 which started this new generation, starting at a price of £199, so there was a precedent already to meet this level of price.
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Even before the Gamecube launched, its price dropped from £199 to £129, almost positioning it as a ‘gaming-only’ device, while Xbox and PS2 touted ‘DVD-Playback’ as a huge feature; almost ridiculous looking back.
Eventually all three would be available to buy at £199 and less, which is undeniably a very tasty price.
Over the five-year reign of these consoles, the Xbox became a prime example of how to do online right, and how subscription prices could work with a console.
Read more: Best retro mini consoles to buy in 2020
PS3 vs Xbox 360 price
With the rise of broadband internet and HD television, all eyes were on what these successors could bring. This is how the price stacked up...
- PS3 - £425
- Xbox 360 - £279
- Wii - £199
This generation is where it started to get slightly ridiculous, from the very affordable to the ‘I will only be eating beans for the next month’ kind of prices.
The PlayStation 3 definitely had a unique time when being announced, and the price of £425 for the UK market did little to encourage potential buyers.
But when the number of features was taken into consideration, such as full backwards-compatibility with the previous PlayStation models and countless inputs on the console, it almost justified itself.
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The Xbox 360 positioned itself to be all about games and its Xbox Live service, which proved to be a great strategy.
We all know how the Wii went; from being seen as an underdog, to completely annihilating sales records.
Wii Sports was packaged with the console, and it's thanks to this that it’s still ranked as the ‘best selling game of all time’.
Eventually, cheaper models came, to the point where you could buy each of these consoles for £200 or less, as units were shifted to make way for the next generation.
Read more: Latest PS5 vs Xbox Series X news
PS4 vs Xbox One price
This was where Sony came back with guns blazing, with a much more affordable launch price.
- PS4 - £349
- Xbox One - £429
Microsoft took the bizarre approach of announcing the Xbox One as a TV Guide first and foremost, while also recommending others to buy a 360 to keep playing their existing games.
It got to the point where the price didn’t matter; the advertising campaign did, and at E3 that year, a majority were in Sony’s court, ready to buy a PlayStation 4.
And let's not forget the Nintendo Switch, which launched during this generation with an RRP of £279.99. The Nintendo Switch Lite followed, launching for just £199.99.
Read more: The Nintendo Switch has sold out!
PS4 Pro vs Xbox One X price
This was the first time where a ‘0.5’ release was made halfway through a console generation, with Sony and Microsoft respectively launching the PS4 Pro and the Xbox One X.
- PS4 Pro - £349
- Xbox One X - £449
The PS4 Pro matched the original PS4 price, with Sony opting to sell its ‘regular model’ for £259 going forward. Meanwhile, the Xbox One X was £20 more than the original Xbox One at launch.
Microsoft also snuck the Xbox One S and the Xbox One S All-Digital into this generation, driving down the price of a current-gen console to a point where you can sometimes find an Xbox One All-Digital on offer for just £99.
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PS5 vs Xbox Series X price
But that now brings us to this year; to what’s coming. We tried to guess the PS5 price and Xbox Series X price earlier this year, and we were close, but just off the mark.
And now, after many months of tweets, podcasts, YouTubers and friends on Zoom debating the price, we finally have confirmation for all of them.
The Xbox Series X price was unveiled at £449.99, while the Xbox Series S was unveiled at £249.99. These will also be in the 'Xbox All Access' plan for a monthly plan for two years.
The Standard Edition PS5 will cost £449.99, while in other regions there are prices of €499.99, and $499.99. Meanwhile, the Digital Edition PS5 will cost £359.99, while in other regions translates to $399.99 and €399.99.
Xbox Series X and PS5 pre-orders are live now!
PS5 pre-orders began on 17th September 2020, with retailers around the world scrambling to get their product pages online - and customers racing to place orders before stocks ran out.
For fans in the UK, the retailer Curry's is one place that seemed to have stock recently: you can click right here to go to the Curry's PS5 page, but you might have to wait in a queue for a while before being able to order one.
Things are not looking good at Amazon right now: at the time of this sentence being written, the Amazon product page for the PS5 Standard Edition in the UK says 'Currently Unavailable', which means the first wave of stock may have run out. You can click here to check the Amazon page, though - it might have updated since we wrote this.
The PS5 Digital Edition also seems to be out of stock at Amazon - you can click here to check out the product page for that one.
There is also a whole family of official PS5 products, from headsets to charging stations, which are available to order now - you can click here to check out the range.
CHECK IT OUT:Amazon's official product page for the PS5
Xbox Series X pre-orders began on 22nd September 2020. Right now, we are seeing live product pages on Argos for the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X consoles - you can click either of those links to see them!
There is also a live product page for the Xbox Series X on Amazon - you can click here to check it out. And you'll find Amazon's Xbox Series S product page, which still has stock at the time of writing, by clicking right here.
You could also check out the pre-order listing on the official Microsoft Store in the US here, or here if you're in the UK.