Rumor | Astonishing Xbox Series X and Series S prices would put the hurt on PS5 sales: US$400 for the Series X console and US$200 for all-digital Lockhart

Just as much of the world seemed to be smitten with the PS5, new rumors about the next-gen Xbox Series have thrown yet another spanner in the works for Sony. It appears that neither Microsoft nor Sony gets to bask in the sunshine for too long when it comes to the next-gen console contest. A Beyond3D forum user known as “eastman”, who claims to have access to insider information about the Xbox Series consoles, has posted some incredible details about both the pricing and the still relatively unknown and unannounced Xbox Series S – also known as Lockhart.

According to eastman, it’s possible Microsoft might end up pricing the mighty Xbox Series X as low as just US$400. Considering the components inside the XSX, this would be an incredible pricing strategy that would pile the pressure on Sony in regard to the PS5 price. As has been discussed earlier, Microsoft can afford to take a loss more than Sony can, and it is believed that the Xbox maker will make plenty of money back through game sales and subscription services. However, what is even more astonishing than this potential US$400 price tag for the XSX is the alleged potential price for the all-digital Lockhart box: US$200!

There’s still a strong belief that Microsoft will eventually reveal the existence of the Xbox Series S/Lockhart console, possibly at the big event planned for July. It appears that Lockhart will be an all-digital affair that will offer gamers better overall performance than the older Xbox One X. Past rumors about Lockhart have stated it will have the same cutting-edge AMD parts controlling the heart of the console as the XSX but with a less-powerful GPU component: 4 TFLOPS vs. 12 TFLOPS. Also, it has been reported that Lockhart will come in a particularly diminutive form that will “surprise everyone”, according to the same source mentioned above.

Analysts have predicted that Sony’s PS5 will lead Microsoft’s Xbox Series X in overall sales, but a fearsome pricing strategy such as the one detailed in this rumor would definitely hurt PS5 console sales. Affordability has frequently been mentioned as a key factor for gamers in deciding which console to purchase, and a US$200 Xbox Series S or US$400 Xbox Series X would be very difficult to ignore for a brand-agnostic console buyer. Even at US$250/US$500, respectively, as suggested by Jeff Grubb, increased Xbox Series next-gen console purchases would put a serious dent in Sony’s projected PS5 sales.