By Nelson Schneider - 01/25/14 at 07:50 PM CT
The 8th Generation Console Wars are already in full swing, with the three established factions ready to defend their unworthy champions upon the battlefield. In the early months of any Console War, picking a side and defending it to the death is common practice among hardcore gamers and nerds alike. It is also commonplace early on for gamers to lose no matter which side they pick.
With all three platforms struggling with the “NO GAEMZ” issue right now, many Console War Crusaders have chosen to nitpick on pricing. And in this worldwide market funk, threatening to plunge the globe back into recession at any moment, only fools (and the 1%) aren’t cautious with their entertainment budgets.
Let’s look at a cost breakdown of the three traditional consoles as well as the hybrid Steam Machines and see where frugal gamers should put their hard-earned cash. In each case, we need to consider the cost of the hardware itself (including add-ons), the cost of incidentals (like service fees), and the cost of games (assuming a minimum library of 10 games), all spread over a lifetime of 5-10 years (the typical duration of a console generation). Who will end up on top?
WiiU:
The first console out of the gate in the 8th Generation also has the smallest price tag taped to its hardware. It also has completely free (but completely crap) online service. Where the WiiU takes its biggest hit against gamers’ wallets is in the cost of games. While most new “AAA” games cost $60 at first, but quickly drop to half that, the WiiU relies almost entirely on Nintendo’s first-party games, which NEVER drop in price. Thrifty shoppers might be able to find used copies of Nintendo’s games for a meager discount, if they’re lucky, but for the most part will be stuck paying full price.
Hardware = $300 (console), $50 (Wiimote + Nunchuck), $50 (Pro Controller)
Service = Free
Games = $50-60 each
Total Over Lifetime = $950, average
PlayStation 4:
The second volley in the 8th Generation Console Wars comes with a small price bump over the WiiU, but significantly more powerful and more standardized hardware. It also marks Sony’s instigation of mandatory PlayStation Plus membership in order to do pretty much anything online. While Sony obviously wants to keep the camera/novelty angle from their previous generations, they aren’t fully committed to the idea and are selling the new version of the PlayStation Eye as an add-on, knocking $100 off the initial cost, which will probably NOT get added back on by most PS4 owners. The PS4 will also share the vast majority of its library of “AAA” games with the XBONE and PC, with prices dropping from full-price at release to half-price within a few months.
Hardware = $400 (console), $100 (camera (not factored into total))
Service = $50/year for 5-10 years
Games = $30-60 each
Total Over Lifetime = $1,200, average
XBONE:
Microsoft is going all-in with their novelty controller (much like Nintendo), but also include a standard controller in the box, making it the only competitor without hidden hardware costs. However, the XBONE still has the most expensive (and invasive) online service. While MS may have backed off on their anti-used-games rhetoric due to crushingly negative feedback from… everyone, it’s still possible for them to ‘pull a Sony’ and remove the standard method of controlling used games (trading discs) in an update. I’m going to give MS the benefit of the doubt, though, and assume that XBONE owners will have the same rights and privileges as PS4 owners to buy and play used “AAA” games at a significant discount.
Hardware = $500
Service = $60/year for 5-10 years
Games = $30-60 each
Total Over Lifetime = $1,400, average
Steam Machines:
The newcomer in the Console Wars, Valve seems Hell-bent on making the square peg of PC gaming fit in the round console hole… and they’re doing a pretty good job of it. Of course, Steam Machines are the only 8th Gen hardware that haven’t officially launched yet, nor has the stand-alone price for their fancy new controller been revealed. But with Steam Big Picture Mode available on any PC running the Steam platform software, it’s not like official hardware with a little logo on it is even necessary. Steam stands out among the crowd in two key ways: 1) The service is free and actually good. 2) The games frequently get ridiculously discounted to impulse-buy range. Sure, the hardware is more expensive than any other platform, but it can do a LOT more, is completely open (say hello to emulators without jailbreaks or hacks), and is the only current platform that does more than pay lip service to backward compatibility (thanks in large part to virtual machines).
Hardware = $500-1300 (console), $50 (standard controller)
Service = Free
Games = $2.50-$20 each
Total Over Lifetime = $1,100, average
And there we have it. The biggest bargain of the 8th Generation is the WiiU, followed closely by Valve’s Steam Machines (or just a homemade gaming PC running Steam), then the PlayStation 4, with the XBONE taking (it) up the rear. With the costs of ownership shaking out in this way, it’s pretty obvious that both PlayStation Plus and Xbox Live are major contributing factors in boosting costs without providing anything of value in return. Of course, with even cheaper (and no longer in-consideration) options like the OUYA completely flopping, it seems that cost isn’t really gamers’ main consideration. But such a fickle and unpredictable customer base is what makes the Console Wars such a spectacle in the first place.
