Poll: What are you willing to pay for a modern, up to date console?

[InsanityRequiem]

Just like the question asks, how much are you willing to spend on a new, up to date console?

Standard fare is usually between $300-500 USD for each console release. We have records stating that for both Microsoft and Sony they sell their consoles at a loss, while Nintendo creates theirs cheaply to sell at a profit.

For me, I?d say roughly between the $301-400 USD price is what I?m willing to pay for a new, up to date console.

Below is what an actual current up to date console would cost:

Spoiler

It would cost over $900 USD. That?s parts, creation, and transportation all included.

 

[Silentpony_v1legacy]

Not a penny more than $350. After that point you get into gaming PC territory. And I somehow doubt the PS4 costs just shy of a grand to make and sold at a nearly $500 loss per unit.

 

[tippy2k2]

I probably wouldn't to be honest.

I'm fine with the consoles that we have. So I suppose I'd pay $400 or so (about what I paid for my Xbox One) if for some reason they wanted to build a console for $900 and then sell it to me for $400...

 

[InsanityRequiem]

Not a penny more than $350. After that point you get into gaming PC territory. And I somehow doubt the PS4 costs just shy of a grand to make and sold at a nearly $500 loss per unit.

May not seem so, but having looked up unique part pricing for what would be inside a console (and lower averaging it), it?s not cheap at all. I?ll list it below in USD.

1 TB hard drive - 60.
Optical Drive - 40
Power & Adapter Cables - 40
1 Controller - 60
Headset - 10
Case - 65 (Surprised at the price a case costs, though the detail needed to design one explains it)
Wifi - 25
Stock Motherboard - 100 (heavy undercutting)
CPU - 150 (immensely undercutting the price)
Graphics Card/GPU - 200 (GTX 950 price)
Cooling System - 50

That by itself costs $800, and that?s with averaging it to a lower cost. Now, while most of the motherboard, cpu, and gpu stuff can most likely be lower due to it mainly being customized, you have to account for the time it took for develop the systems that run in it. So unless companies are getting a 60+% bulk price drop, console creation is not cheap one bit. Then we got about a $100-150 price increase due to transportation/shipping costs, labor, and store mark up.

 

[Johnny Novgorod]

Traditionally about $300. Never buy stuff at launch.

 

[Dirty Hipsters]

Not a penny more than $350. After that point you get into gaming PC territory. And I somehow doubt the PS4 costs just shy of a grand to make and sold at a nearly $500 loss per unit.

May not seem so, but having looked up unique part pricing for what would be inside a console (and lower averaging it), it?s not cheap at all. I?ll list it below in USD.

1 TB hard drive - 60.
Optical Drive - 40
Power & Adapter Cables - 40
1 Controller - 60
Headset - 10
Case - 65 (Surprised at the price a case costs, though the detail needed to design one explains it)
Wifi - 25
Stock Motherboard - 100 (heavy undercutting)
CPU - 150 (immensely undercutting the price)
Graphics Card/GPU - 200 (GTX 950 price)
Cooling System - 50

That by itself costs $800, and that?s with averaging it to a lower cost. Now, while most of the motherboard, cpu, and gpu stuff can most likely be lower due to it mainly being customized, you have to account for the time it took for develop the systems that run in it. So unless companies are getting a 60+% bulk price drop, console creation is not cheap one bit. Then we got about a $100-150 price increase due to transportation/shipping costs, labor, and store mark up.

That's really not the proper way to figure out how much a console costs. That's what the console would cost if YOU were putting it together, and buying the parts at consumer prices, but none of the console manufacturers buy their parts at consumer prices.

You see, consumer prices have a mark-up on them because you get them in stores, so when you're buying a piece of equipment you're paying for how much that part was to make, you're paying for the transportation, you're paying for the physical store location where that part was sold to you, you're paying for that store's employees, you're paying the sales and import taxes, and finally the store is also making a profit on you.

The console manufacturers aren't going to Fry's electronics, picking up individual parts, and then making a single console, so to say that it costs them $900 to make a console is silly.

You actually think it costs them $40 for power cables? REALLY?! Power cables are incredibly cheap to make, and are sold at huge profit margins. The power cables for each console probably cost $1 or less to produce.

 

[Tanis]

Nothing.
I JUST got my PS4 a few months back (FUCK YA, BLACK FRIDAY!) so there's NO WAY IN HELL I'd buy a new one yet.

 

[InsanityRequiem]

Snip.

That?s why I made the statement about bulk pricing part of 60%. Standard bulk pricing does a 35-50% mark off at most, so that?d drop the pricing down to $400 a console, excluding manpower for creation, transportation, and subsequent store shelf life.

This generation, all three companies stated they were selling at a profit, though barely much at all. Microsoft ($500) and Nintendo ($300) said they were making small profits for each console sold, while Sony ($400) explicitly stated they were making $18 per sale. In previous generations, only Nintendo was making profits per unit sold. Then we got the upgrades in the Pro ($400) and Scorpio (Unstated), the Switch ($300) as a new console, and then we got the PSVR ($400) accessory that?s stated to be profitable.

This generation is an outlier of console sales due to the small profits the companies state they make, while already getting ?upgrades? and a new console. And even at that price range, most people are not willing to spend majorly near what Microsoft and Sony want to sell them at (Over $400). With both the individual and reduced prices, console development is predominantly more costly than what consumers are willing to pay.

Will it change in the future where consoles will no longer cost over $400? Maybe, but that depends if consoles continue to use somewhat underpowered hardware.

Separately, no. I don't think it costs $40 specifically. To tailor make a compatible power cord to run off the energy specific requires of their hardware and the different regional power outlet specifications, it probably costs $2-3.

 

[Zykon TheLich_v1legacy]

Not had a console since PS2 and I bought that way after release, it probably only cost about ?150 (then approx $240) on sale.

If I did buy a console it'd be a PS4 because a few of my friends have them and it's be nice to play online with them. But I'm not going to spend a load of cash on something that I'm only ever going to use at a time when both myself and friends happen to be online at home and fancy shooting each other in GTA. So, again, probably about ?150 (probably about $150 these days) is about the highest I'd pay for a console.

 

[InsanityRequiem]

The aim of this thread is confusing. Anyways, the $900 figure is much more in line with the PS3's BOM on Sony's end. This was mostly due to the inclusion of a Bluray drive and the custom gimp GPU though, not Cell which the media might've led people to believe.

 

[gsilver]

Not until I can pick up 5 exclusive AAA games for $16 or less + there's a good discount on the system.

//Bought my PS4 Pro a month after launch (/w 15% off coupon). That was my first PS4.

Yep. That's my expectations going forward.

 

[Padwolf]

Exactly 1p!

No, really about ?250. That's usually what they cost, roundabouts that. But that's when it's still quite new. If it's a couple of years down the line, then I'd only really be willing to pay ?150 for one.

 

[bluegate]

$300~$400 sounds about right for a console that tries to have at least some up to date technology in it.

I don't necessarily want my consoles to compete with the latest and newest graphics cards that can cost the better part of said $300~$400 budget, so I'm fine with a relative low price for not-as-top-notch technology.

$150~$200 for a console that releases with just blatantly old technology.

 

[CaitSeith]

$400 if it's worth having it. But so far they don't IMO (maybe the Switch once it has more games)

 

[Tuesday Night Fever]

Voted $201-$300 due to a lack of $101-$200 option.

I bought my PS3 for ~$125 during a sale after the PS4 launched. Bought it just to play PS3 exclusives not available to PC. That, and my Blu-Ray player had died. Kill two birds with one stone.

The exclusives are all I have interest in with consoles, and I can be pretty patient for the price to plummet.

It would take one hell of a great console, with a fairly legendary lineup of exclusives, and a minimum amount of bullshit stuffed into it (I have no interest in gimmicky motion controls, cameras, TV control crap, social media linking crap, etc.) to get me to buy a current console regardless of where it falls between $300 and $900. So, in other words, probably never gonna happen.

 

[KissingSunlight]

I am willing to go $300 for a new console. The problem I have with the current generation of consoles is that they are not focused on gaming. Sony and Microsoft want to be social media/entertainment centers. Gaming was an after-thought for them. A solid gaming console with quality games that I want to play. I would easily pay somewhere between $250 - $350 for a console.

 

[KissingSunlight]

I am willing to go $300 for a new console. The problem I have with the current generation of consoles is that they are not focused on gaming. Sony and Microsoft want to be social media/entertainment centers. Gaming was an after-thought for them. A solid gaming console with quality games that I want to play. I would easily pay somewhere between $250 - $350 for a console.

I'm not sure what you mean. The PS4 has quite a few exclusives I want. If Sony wanted their PS4 to be an entertainment center, the Pro would be able to play 4K Blu-rays. I'm a little disappointed about that.

I am leaning to get a PS4 in maybe a year or two. When both companies were promoting their consoles. They focused on the social media, like the share button, and all the bells and whistles of streaming services. Advertising that it was more than a gaming console. When both consoles were released, the most popular games were remastered games from the previous generation of consoles.

 

[Yoshi178]

Microsoft and Sony they sell their consoles at a loss, while Nintendo creates theirs cheaply to sell at a profit.

Wii U sold at a loss and i'm pretty sure Switch will be too....