Console War: Does Anything Matter More Than Price?

Xbox One won November and could win December but is it entirely because of the temporary price drop? Or are other factors at play?

[SaveFerris]

For Black Friday and Cyber Monday, the price of the bundles was key. For the rest of the year, it'll be the the games.

[TheSaint]

If it isn't always about the games then you're doing it wrong.

[ChrisW]

Yes... it's about the games. But many forget that it's NOT about 1080p@60fps...

[kneon]

During the holiday buying season there is a much higher percentage of consoles being bought by parents, uncles, grandparents etc. For them price and bundles are the main deciding factor.

[mikeslemonade]

If it's all about price then how come the WiiU is doing so poorly?

It helps to be good in many areas.

[miyamoto]

"If it isn't always about the games then you're doing it wrong."

Couldn't have said that any better myself,mate.

+ bubble for intelligence.

We all know that more core gamers got the PS4 versus XB1 outside of Black Friday and the holiday shopping spree. Gamers/consumers who actual get games as a hobby. Those who intend to buy more games down the road. They are genuinely concerned about the games not just the price.

That is very telling about what is going on.

What kind of consumers got the PS4 & XB1 during BF- Casuals and the budget or cheap skate gamers. Their primary motivation is the cheap price. If M$ is celebrating over these class of gamers then that does not go very well. Remember the Wii?

If consumers buy your platform for the games then you are doing it right.

[rainslacker]

For the most part yes, but the holiday season makes people do weird things. People buy crap they never would just because it's on sale.

[tinynuggins]

I think that when you have two systems that are so similar in terms of power and games, the biggest differentiator is the price. If the xbox one had launched at $399.99 I think it would be neck and neck with the ps4 in terms of global sales. The proof will be whether MS can continue this upwards sales trend in 2015 with the lower price point. I can't imaging them raising the price back up to $399.99

[SoapShoes]

Nah I don't think so, it'd be closer but remember the PS3 sold more at a higher price with 12-16 months less.

[jambola]

yes
if price was the most important then the ps3 would have been a lot worse off

[tinynuggins]

PS3 sales didn't really pick up until after the price drop. Price played a key roll in that system moving units a year after it launched.

[jambola]

yeah, but the ps3 price was crazy at the start, i mean when prices are both reasonable

[SoapShoes]

But it was still more expensive than the competition after the first drop.

[Knightofelemia]

When choosing a console its about price, features, the line up of titles. More importantly will it have the first party titles I want to play. When sit back skog a beer and relax enjoying those titles. Also reliability and customer service from the company that makes the console are other big factors when choosing a console.

[MasterCornholio]

Price isn't the only thing. Look at the quality of the Wii Us library and the sales that it has.

There's a lot more to a console than just price.

[Gore-Content]

Yes. Games. I win.

[PS4isKing_82]

It a the holidays. It's cheap. Of course it's going to sell well.

A couple of points of interest about the Amazon charts between the two consoles.

Last Christmas and this Christmas the Xbox one places near the top spot of the most gifted video game charts whereas the ps4 remains #1 in the "most wanted" charts. So that tells me it's mostly parents buying the Xbox around Christmas but the main hardcore gamers still prefer the ps4 the most.

Once the holidays are over, sales should fall sharply for Xbox one while ps4 will remain steady as always. Not to mention the must have games on Xbox for 2015 are many months into the year.

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

Sure price is an important factor. Microsoft learned that the hard way when it was selling it's console for $100 more than the competition. However, software and subscriptions are the areas where these consoles will make the bulk of their profits. In the end, it's the console with best price and the most interesting library of games that will attract customers. The PS4 has been selling at a predictable pace continuously year round, while the Xbox One seems to depend on price cuts and other enticements to improve sales. Sony has control over the European and Asian markets, that much is certain. The PS4 is also on top in the North American market, but not by much. I think it's all going to come down to which consoles has the games that people want to play. I guess we'll all have to wait to see what 2015 brings.

[SaveFerris]

I think the focus by MS on 'TV, TV, Sports, TV...' also played a factor with the early adopters. Gamers didn't want a cable box, they wanted a games console. This and the price difference helped Sony take the lead.

[Tzuno]

For me xbox wins because it has better controller wich is plug and play on pc and let's not forget Ms does some of the best software, i liked sony a lot on ps1-ps2 days, the so called next gen didn't caught me on so i switched to PC with a Xbox controller, best experience i ever had apart from snes-ps2 era.

[Illusive_Man]

When you have two consoles so close in power, features, and have 90% of the same games price is extremely important. That's why MS should have started the gen as a loss leader and went with $350 instead of $500. Sales would be much closer.

[Jerrymonics]

i dont think so

[level 360]

Was going to save buying PS4 for 2015 ever since Project CARS got moved to March next year..

..but when news came out about Driveclub having greatly improved, plus with a good number of games bundled with it along with a very enticing price I just have to get one before the deal runs out.

I was switching from PS4 to XBox ONE deals.. do **honestly believe the XBox ONE actually offered the best *price point, but the PS4 simply had the better *game deals.

Buying the XBox ONE has to wait till next year for me.

[KingPin]

actually its comes down to a few things

1) price
2) hardware
3) games
4) features

those are things i look at when buying a console.
if one console is more expensive than the other, you start comparing the hardware,features and games and ask what does X console have over Y console that makes it more expensive. if you come to a reasonable conclusion and you dont mind paying more for the "better" console in your opinion, get that one. If you cant see a great difference after making the comparison, buying the cheaper console coz itll still do exactly what you want it to do is fine too. doesnt mean you bought a crappier console if it fits your needs just fine.

[rapidturtle]

Like it or not, these systems are very similar to one another. 95% of the games released can be played on both systems. Microsoft's biggest mistake was trying to shove a gimmick like Kinect down our throats, and pricing the system $100 above Sony because of that gimmick. If both systems had been priced equal from the start, the numbers would be a lot closer in Microsoft's favor.
I bet you see the Kinect system gone from stores in the next year.

[IGiveHugs2NakedWomen]

Your numbers are a bit off. The PS4 has 212 games. The Xbox One has 140 games. There are 67 multiplatform games between them, leaving 155 games on the PS4 and 73 on the Xbox One. That's a lot less than 95%. In the PS4's case it's about 35% for the Xbox One is about 50% of it's library is multiplatform. When omitting multiplatform games from the equation, the PS4 has 2 times the number of games of the Xbox One. The only advantage that the Xbox One has at the moment is a price cut and free games. Once those incentives are gone, the PS4 will go right back to outselling it in every market, like it has been doing for 10 months out of the year.

[snookiegamer]

Well IMO you have to be careful with the price, because if you cut too deep, too fast, it can give the impression the console is struggling, unpopular and worst of all cheap!

Yup, you can take a loss selling low just to get a jump on your competitors, but it's just a temporary measure. A console business cannot sustain losses over the long run, regardless of software, accessories and services clawing back some of that loss.

It's a very bad business model ;/

[pompous]

NO!!! And Nintendo Wii proved that last gen with its $250 console

[Spotie]

Then why isn't the Wii U bearing that out this gen?

[Revengeance]

The reason why it sold so quickly because it was catered towards casuals and they streamlined a new way to play. And while they got away with it for the Wii, they can't do that a second time with the Wii U.