The Next Generation

It's the end of the era and the beginning of a new one.

Last December, Microsoft revealed their Xbox Series X, their next big step in home video game systems.

Last week, Sony responded, finally unveiling their PlayStation 5.

With both systems now in the public view, the next generation of console gaming is officially upon us. By the end of the year, barring some new unforeseen catastrophe that seems to define 2020, the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5 will be out on store shelves to usher in a new generation in gaming.

As long as you can afford it.

While both Microsoft and Sony have been quick to tout impressive hardware specs of their new systems, the two companies have been conspicuously mum about the price. Sony in particular has been particularly dodgy about the price point, choosing to instead focus on the value their new system will offer consumers. Which is another way of saying, "Look, you wanted a beefy new system that can handle next-gen graphics. That isn't going to be cheap."

Best guesses right now are that the new consoles will range anywhere from $400 to $600. It all depends on if either Sony or Microsoft is willing to take a loss on their hardware in order to undercut their competitor.

It gets even more complicated than that though as consumers may have more than just two next-generation options to choose from this holiday.

Sony, presumably looking to mitigate some of the anticipated sticker shock for the PlayStation 5, will be offering a variation of the console that omits the Blu-ray disk drive. This digital only system will presumably run $50 to $100 cheaper than the standard version.

Microsoft, meanwhile, has long been rumored to be working on a less powerful, but more economical, iteration of the Xbox Series X. This will leave consumers with four options of various price points and features to choose from.

Variations on consoles are nothing new. In the current generation, the PlayStation 4 and the Xbox One have released a combined seven iterations of the two systems, either upgrading the technology or downgrading the price for each version.

This is, however, the first time such options are expected to be available at launch.

In particular, it will be interesting to see how well the digital only systems are received by consumers.

Console gamers really like their physical disks. Whether it's the collector that enjoys seeing their shelf full of game cases, the thrifty gamer that values the ability to buy and sell used games, or the cautious gamer that wants to be sure they can play their games forever so long as electricity runs, there are a lot of reasons why gamers may not see the loss of the disk drive as a viable option.

At the same time, there's nothing wrong with providing a system for those that don't have such concerns. Outside of having to keep track of which system is capable of what (and boy do I feel bad for the retailer workers that are going to have to explain the difference on a daily basis) I'm looking forward to being able to pick a next-generation option that suits my priorities.

Which, at this point, mostly just consists of "Which system will the next Final Fantasy VII Remake game look best on?"

Travis Fischer is a news writer for Mid-America Publishing and needs to finish playing his un-played PS4 games before the end of the year.