The war between Microsoft’s XBox game console and Sony’s PlayStation is far from over as both had always been placed heads-on towards each other for years. The interesting thing about both companies is with the release of their next-generation game consoles; the XBox Series X and then the PlayStation 5 both which had been rumored extensively throughout the year.

But then Microsoft did released the price point of it’s XBox Series X which is expected to cost about US$499 while the company also accompany the game console with a “Lite” version, the XBox Series S which will be about US$299 while being touted to be released later on this year, November 10th to be precise.

There is just as it’s always been, debates about whether the game console are really next-generation. For the records, both the XBox Series S and Series X will both sport the same AMD processor just with a different graphic processor with the Series X sporting a high-end variant.

But then we get to ask what is going to happen in the case of the PlayStation just as Microsoft has already revealed so much about it’s game console.

About the pricing, since both companies seems to be at competition right up next to each other, both never really wanted to reveal their pricing for their game consoles first. The PlayStation 5 was first announced back in October 2019 and up until now, we have no idea how much this device is going to cost.

But then Microsoft had revealed the pricing of both XBox series X and S and we cannot but wait for what price tag Sony will stamp right on top the device. The war between competitors had always been about not wanting to scare off consumers as revealing your price too soon could lead your competitors to drop their price or the price of your competitor could mean you’ll have to sell your product at a loss.

The XBox Series S sounds quite cheap for US$299 despite being labelled a next-gen game console withe the device’s hard drive being ripped out. But since the days of the XBox 360, that was the last time we saw a “next-gen” consile being priced at that.

But then you might think that this is basically just about competition right because if Microsoft slashes it’s own prices it could affect Sony’s decision on what to stamp on it’s own device which might just be true to some extent.

Meanwhile, there have already been questions about Sony’s ability to sell the PS5 for less than $500 — much less $300. In February and again in April, Bloomberg games industry journalist Takashi Mochizuki reported that component shortages and rising memory prices were forcing Sony to consider higher prices at launch than the PS4 or PS4 Pro, with one estimate suggesting it would cost $450 for Sony just to manufacture the new console.

Sony has been able to ramp up the production of the PS5 game console by 50% which still showed that the company still has a lot to do which could force customers to only opt for pre-order since only 10 million consoles have been made through to March of 2021.

But one big thing is the fact that Sony’s PlayStation 5 will come in two models which includes the variant with disc-drive and the one without which is digital-only but basing the specifications of this right up against the XBox Series S, we can say that the PS5 would still be better than the entry-level model and for the fact that games tested on the PS5 all performed really great is one thing to remember here.

But then you get to realise that even if you’ve made up your mind to purchase the XBox Series X/S, then you might be left wondering if that decision isn’t a waste of money because the July 23rd’s XBox Game Showcase made us realise that all major titles coming to the game are also coming to the Windows PC as well so why not just invest in a much better machine for computing and gaming right.

For the PlayStation 5, the console which will be shipped in two different variants gets you the chance to pick which you’d prefer much more reliably meanwhile the good thing is the fact that both game consoles aren’t very different from one another except for the removal of the 4K Ultra HD Blu-ray drive as the gameplay experience will be the same according to Sony.

The savings for Sony aren’t just in the components, either; Sony won’t have to pay Blu-ray and DVD licensing fees, which could cost $8 per console all on their own. Anybody who buys a PS5 Digital Edition likely gives Sony a larger cut of each game, because they’re sold through the PlayStation Store instead of Amazon, Target, GameStop or the like. Digital games also can’t be resold, so more buyers will have to purchase them at higher prices new. Even those who prefer discs may find fewer used discs in the market because digital buyers won’t have any to drop off at their local GameStop.

With that, one might just assume that sales of the PS5 Digital Edition could be sold at a loss based on the aforementioned factors especially since Microsoft sells it’s own low-end variant at the lowered rate. If you think about it, the Disc-drive pulled out from the older XBox One S was tipped to cost about US$37 but that price could have increased in the modern day to somehow around US$45 and ripping it out takes the price off which could have placed the device at about US$350 just saying.

But it might not be right to judge both devices based on the pricing of the other competitor’s device. Think about the fact that even Apple do sell the iPhone at a higher price despite competitors offering much better devices (or maybe I’m being biased) which could be the case with the Playstation 5 which could come at a price point of about US$500 for the disc-drive model while the digital-only model could be slashed to somehow around US$400 even if lesser, it won’t be too much of a difference.

Heck, imagine Sony taking advantage of the black-box nature of its ridiculous invite-only PS5 preorder queue to steer gamers towards whichever version of the console will help its bottom line, while only offering the other system to a select few.

But whatever it is Sony has to offer in terms of the pricing of the PlayStation 5, it’ll better not be too much as in US$600 which could scare some consumers away when they could get the XBox Series S for half the price and the fact the Series S is digital only might not really be a big deal to many people at that.