Xbox head Phil Spencer teased the pricing for the upcoming Series X console, telling IGN he has a “really good” feeling about going toe-to-toe with the PlayStation 5. For power and price, he added the Series X is doing whatever it can to “stay agile” for a close launch with competitors.
In an interview, he believes Sony’s console is shaping up to be impressive on speeds and hardware which run with an SSD.
“I will definitely have respect for any platform team that’s launching, it just takes a lot of work,” Spencer said, adding Microsoft has their own judgement over a premium gaming systems for consumers. “But I will say, when we finally saw the public disclosure, I felt even better about the choices that we made on our platform. And I kind of expected that I would,” he said.
After its reveal at The Game Awards 2019, Spencer continued to detail the Series X’s ability to handle multiple game loads while giving players more options to keep their previous generation titles in one place.
PlayStation’s own presentation by Mark Cerny early March also brought up discussions of providing the most advanced hardware for players at launch, before eventually transitioning to Pro or Slim models as previous consoles did before. Spencer later explained the Series X factors in its value from expectations while accommodating for players who’ve stayed with the platform since the first Xbox was released in 2001.
According to GameSpot, it encouraged Spencer to remain confident with the Series X’s own offerings without forgetting about the One X’s release at $500 USD.
The Series X’s full specs include an eight-core Zen 2 processor while its AMD-supplies graphics card allows for higher dynamic resolution scaling – letting newer games run at higher frames while enhancing older ones. Like the PS5, both share similar processors while the Series X clocks at a 3.8 GHz – marginally higher than Sony’s decision to keep their CPU at 3.5GHz.
“”You have to set a price target at the beginning for yourselves. And then you kind of roll in as you see the competition come in and start to go to market planning,” Spencer told IGN. “I feel good about the price that we’re going to be able to get to. I feel good about the price and the performance capabilities that we have with Series X. I feel incredibly strong about the overall package.”
While there’s no telling how much higher consumers will pay for the Xbox Series X at launch in the holidays, the upgrades from its older models and the presence of the PlayStation 5 could mean several hundred dollars more. As the price deflates for its first edition, newer iterations and advanced upgrades could maintain the 2020 launch price well into the decade.
As of now, no price has been revealed.