72 percent of gamers would spend this much on PS5 or Xbox Series X
Now that's a lot of coin.
The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X should both be released by the end of November, but we still don't know the price of either console. With the massive technical improvements each next-generation console brings, it's possible that these systems could be the most expensive new gaming platforms in over a decade. The results of a new poll held by Inverse shows that the vast majority of gamers agree on what the upper limit is that they're willing to spend on a new console.
Inverse polled 483 readers about their thoughts and preferences towards next-generation consoles. In one question, we asked, "How much are you willing to spend on a next-gen console?" Choices included "keeping my old hardware until price drops," $400, $500, $600, and "sky's the limit." From that poll, exactly 350 people said that they were willing to spend $500 or more on PS5 and Xbox Series X, which is roughly 72 percent of all responders.
Check out Inverse's next-gen console poll and let us know what you think about the PS5 and Xbox Series X!
More specifically, 208 people (43.1 percent) answered that they would spend up to $500 on the next-generation consoles. 87 readers (18 percent) were okay with a price of $600, and 55 people (11.4 percent) claimed that they were willing to pay even more! Overall, this means that 72.5 percent of the people Inverse polled would find the price acceptable if the PS5 and Xbox Series X were more expensive at launch than the PlayStation 4 was when it was released in 2013.
Still, some people aren't as keen on the consoles getting that expensive, especially when one considers the poor state of the economy currently. 84 readers (17.4 percent) said they weren't willing to pay over $400, while 49 people that answered (10.1 percent) said they're planning on keeping their PS4 or Xbox One until the price of next-generation consoles is lowered at some point in the future.
We knew the prices of the PS4 and Xbox One about five months in advance of their release, so it feels a bit unusual that we don't know the prices of next-gen consoles yet. Both Sony and Microsoft are probably aiming to undercut the other in terms of pricing, we've had to wait longer than usual to learn about the consoles' pricing and availability.
The Inverse Analysis — This poll shows that the vast majority of gamers polled won't mind paying $500 for next-gen consoles, but nearly 30 percent would be okay with the price being even higher. Many analysts are predicting that the PS5 and Xbox Series X will both sell fewer units initially because of the recession caused by the Covid-19 pandemic, and previous polls have shown how much price matters to gamers.
Despite that, it seems that most hardcore gamers and readers of Inverse are fine with somewhat higher prices. Specifically, $500 seems to be the sweet spot that both consoles could be priced at without being deemed as too expensive.
Both Sony and Microsoft also plan on offering cheaper, digital-only version of their console with the PS5 Digital Edition and leaked Xbox Series S. As such, it seems like that at least some version of each next-generation console should wind up at or under $500, which will be more appealing to the casual consumer.
For now, we just have to play the waiting game until the price of PS5 and Xbox Series X are revealed.
PS5 and Xbox Series X will both reportedly be released in November 2020.
