Xbox Project Helix could hurt Sony PS6 with $1,000 price and Positron program

[Redaktion]

Rumors and discussions regarding the price of the next-gen Sony PlayStation 6 and Microsoft Xbox Project Helix are heating up. With the state of the market, no one is sure how the next-gen consoles will be priced. However, some think that Xbox Helix could be a superb value.

https://www.notebookcheck.net/Xbox-Project-Helix-could-hurt-Sony-PS6-with-1-000-price-and-Positron-program.1348977.0.html

[Hu Tao]

Nobody will buy Helix given that the highest percentage of people who bought an Xbox bought the cheapest Xbox Series S. Common sense dictates that these people won't suddenly convert to a $1000-1200 console.

Also if Steam is allowed Microsoft will lost a lot of money. This means they won't subsidize the console.

Xbox has weak presence outside America. Do we expect people from outside America to suddenly spend $1000-1200 for a console. Of course not.

There is no way Helix will be a success.

[Hu Tao]

Forgot to mention that Nintendo and PS has stronger presence outside America. Even if the scenario where both console manufacturers starts selling PS6 and Helix $1000 people will just buy the cheapest Switch 2 just fine. People will get by. Netflix is also gained strong market outside America so people won't loss content. Even if they can't game there are still so many avenue for entertainment.

PC is also strong and is gaining footprint in Japan thanks to vtubers this was before the AI rampocalypse. China and South Korea has more culture of PC hence why games such as Genshin has penetrated Japan, Korea and their domestic Chinese market.

If this scenario plays out the PS6 will still have substantial advantage because of loyal fans who built their library over the years. It will underperform of course due to the price. Helix however will suffer a total defeat due to the reaons mentioned above.

[B&R]

The only issue with everything you wrote above is that it's based on the assumption that Tom of MLID is accurate on pricing.

He was wrong on steam machine. Come to think of it, looking at his track record, was there anything he got right on pricing?

But let's assume it's true for a moment. It depends on how they market it. For a console, it maybe too much but if they market it like a PC it could be more reasonable. And like you said, PC is doing well in Asia, so perhaps Xbox as a PC will do better in Asia as well this time.

The question of how they'll handle steam integration is an important one. As everyone wants it but like you said, how exactly are they going to profit if everyone just goes steam?

Anyways, this is still 1.5 years away from release. A lot can happen in that time. Pricing is usually decided and changed very last minute so no point speculating this early.

I personally think Microsoft is more worried about SteamOS than the PS6. Sony isn't trying to replace the PC but what Valve is working on could very well entirely replace windows in the future, not just Xbox.