One thing is clear from what we know so far: Both the new consoles are unlikely to cost below $400 based solely on what we know about the components inside.
"I previously estimated the build cost of [Xbox] Series X would be higher at over $460 minimum, and still expect that to be the case," Niko Partners video game industry analyst Daniel Ahmad said last week in a series of tweets.
In short, that means the price of components and manufacturing the next Xbox could be as much as $460. And if that's the cost of creating each box, it stands to reason that Microsoft would price the console higher than the cost of production.
"A $450 build cost would probably result in a retail price close to $500," Ahmad said. "I think at this point it's unrealistic to assume we'll get a high end console at $399 like last gen."
There's one caveat, of course: Both Microsoft and Sony could be willing to take a loss on each console sold, at least initially, in order to establish a foothold with early adopters. In theory, if they went this route, the blow would be at least softened by the manufacturers' cut of game sales, microtransactions, and premium services like Xbox Live and PlayStation Plus.
"Both manufacturers could be willing to take a loss day one to price more competitively," Ahmad said.
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