Indeed. I was looking forward to Series X until the Halo delay and the actual launch line up became clearer. Now, I don’t see much of a reason to jump in until more titles are available next year. I’ll “make do” with my One X, PC and Gamepass. What a hardship. :)
Unfortunately, I can’t quite afford 2 consoles right now. But the launch of Horizon Zero Dawn 2 in 2021 and the PS5 Digital might finally draw me into the Playstation world.
I always buy everything so it’s just a matter of what order, haha.
Most of this year I was 80% certain I would go Xbox first, because Halo was my single most anticipated launch title (I don’t care about Ratchet & Clank, and a standalone Spider-man “expansion” didn’t really stand up to a new Halo for me) - but without Halo, it comes down to whatever else is up their sleeve for launch, if anything.
I normally go in fairly early on consoles, but I think I’ll be sitting out this generation for a year or more, especially since I’ll need to upgrade my PC in the same timeframe. None of the stuff Playstation showed was day 1 essential for me (though I do want to play Miles Morales eventually), I don’t particularly like Halo, and I’m happy playing Game Pass on PC or XboneX in the meantime.
Synth
1587
It still surprises me that there doesn’t seem to be much doubt that the Series X (and the PS5) will launch this year. Neither platform has a flagship product to launch with really. The pandemic has curtailed marketing efforts. And election year means they’ll struggle for media time in their biggest market. Delaying until spring seems entirely plausible to me.
It seems entirely sensible to do it, and I wouldn’t be surprised, but I think the two companies are pretty much committed at this point, absent some large external event (like a dramatic worsening of the pandemic). I think they’d have stopped talking about the (rough) dates by now if they were seriously considering it. And I really doubt they’d want to miss the Black Friday-Christmas window.
Both Microsoft and Sony come out literally at least once a month and say that everything’s on track for a launch this year. For example there’s this from August 11th: https://news.xbox.com/en-us/2020/08/11/xbox-series-x-launching-with-thousands-of-games/
If they weren’t still on track both companies wouldn’t be coming out so consistently that Covid hasn’t impacted their schedule.
You have to remember that at launch, you’re probably just going to sell boxes no matter what. That’s to the hardcore crowd who really want one. And then by the time all those people have one, that’s when you need a flagship product or a nice selection of games for it that can attract the ones who didn’t get it in the first few months.
But I hear ya. It’s seeming more and more like both consoles will be pretty barren for a longer period than usual compared to previous launches as far as flagship titles go.
Sony is sitting on a bunch of exclusive reveals for until after Microsoft commits all their details.
MS has already stopped making the previous gen consoles, so they’ll need the new one just to have hardware to sell at all.
All those people stuck at home want consoles.
The One X and digital One S are discontinued They’re still making regular the One S.
stusser
1595
Yep I expect that to essentially be an xCloud only device soon. And then in a year, perhaps replaced with a little androidTV dongle.
With or without a drive the PS5 isn’t expected to be “cheap”. It’s the same high end device offering a slight discount for early adopters who have already transitioned to full digital ownership (like myself). I was fully digital on PS4, and PS Vita, and even on PS3 once that became possible. I don’t buy Blurays. I buy 4K movies on Vudu. I don’t need an optical drive. But I’m not price sensitive. I’m not a “after two price cuts” user MS is trying to get year one instead.
Seriously WTF here. They’re looking at the first week of November, right? Or at the very latest by Black Friday? That means we’re 2-2½ months out. How do we not have pricing, or even a confirmation on hardware (Series S) yet, from either company? This is mind boggling.
stusser
1598
I’d expect some time in November, yes. They’re still playing chicken.
Everyone said the console makers should act more like Apple, but when they wait to announce the price until it actually goes on sale everyone flips out.
Will, this is getting a bit ridiculous. If you are interested in a PS5 or Series X, you have no clue how much money to set aside, what bundles will be available and at what price. There are no retailers to preorder from. And given the specs of the machines, it’s kind of hard to guess but won’t be cheap. They are kind of cutting it close 2 months out.
That said, it’s been so long I don’t remember for sure how long in advance we had prices and preorders for the previous gen. At E3?
kerzain
1601
If you have to ask the price you can’t afford it.
The PS5 is invite only preorder, and you have to prove how much of a Sony fanboy you are to get an invite. This isn’t far off from the truth.
I suspect there have been manufacturing problems due to, how shall I say, recent global instabilities, and there’s going to be a massive shortage of both consoles.
