Xbox One X Price
The Xbox One X’s $499 price tag has been the subject of huge debate since the console was officially unveiled last week. On the one hand, Microsoft’s iterative upgrade is offering 4K gaming at a comparatively low price to PC equivalents. On the other hand, the X is $100 more than its competition, PS4 Pro. Despite being significantly more powerful, this might see it struggle to appeal to a broad audience, particularly given that a 4k television is required to take full advantage of the extra performance.
Consider that the Xbox One S (now $200, for a limited time) is less than half the price of its big brother but still boasts identical content and features. There’s a huge performance gap, of course, though we aren’t exactly sure how that is going to be utilized beyond 4k resolution. After all, the PS4 Pro has already provided a case study, and it hasn’t exactly been wildly compelling for gamers using 1080p televisions. More stable frame rates, slightly faster loading times, better anti-aliasing. Improvements, certainly, but is the Xbox One X really worth a whopping $300 more for a few tweaks?
There’s also too little separating the PS4 Pro and Xbox One X to warrant the extra $100. Those expecting significant advantages over Sony’s own iterative upgrade might be yet be disappointed.
Indeed, several third-party developers have already stated a parity between Pro and X moving forward. Destiny, Metro, and Assassin’s Creed origins run similarly on both systems. So are users in danger of purchasing a console that won’t ever be pushed to its potential with the exception of first party content? If that does turn out to be the case, Microsoft’s poultry line-up for the rest of the year doesn’t convince me Xbox One X is worth the money, yet.
