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PlayStation (Games) Sony Microsoft XBox (Games)

Sony's PlayStation 5 Is Beating Xbox in the Online Black Market (bloomberg.com) 52

Posted by msmash from the closer-look dept.
Sony's PlayStation 5 and Microsoft's Xbox Series X haven't hit stores yet, but the video game console showdown has already begun in the online black market. From a report: Demand for the PlayStation 5 on resale websites is outstripping that of the new Xbox, and shoppers are paying more to get their hands on the first run of products, market research shows. The vibrant market for scalpers offers a preview of next month's contest when the two rival game companies will release their new consoles to a global audience with a seemingly endless appetite for home entertainment. In the U.S., consumer spending on video game hardware, content and accessories is at record highs. The pandemic triggered a surge in players and engagement through the spring and summer months, at times depleting inventory of the current generation of consoles, according to research firm NPD Group. The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series S and X, the first major console releases from Sony and Microsoft in seven years, are among the most highly anticipated gadgets of the holiday season. Spending on games over the holidays is expected to jump 24% from last year. "Units will be tough to find," wrote Mat Piscatella, an analyst at NPD.
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Sony's PlayStation 5 Is Beating Xbox in the Online Black Market More

Sony's PlayStation 5 Is Beating Xbox in the Online Black Market

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  • The main differentiators between the Xbox Series X and the Playstation 5 are the slightly higher GPU horsepower of the Xbox and the significantly faster, and more optimized, SSD of the Playstation 5. They both have 16 GB RAM, and are almost entirely backwards compatible with the previous generation. For 4K graphics with 16 GB of system RAM -- shared between core game logic and all the graphics -- being able to pull more textures and geometry from the disk quickly is likely to be more compelling than an 18

    • Re: (Score:1)

      by Anonymous Coward

      To be honest Microsoft doesn't even try and compete with Sony on sales numbers anyway anymore, they realised years ago that the money from consoles doesn't come from the hardware itself, but the games. That's where the profit margin is and attach rate is far more important as a result.

      That's why Microsoft have focussed heavily on cross play, and making sure their games work more and more across Xbox and PC because they can then sell more games and not have to give two shits about the low profitability of ha

      • they realised years ago that the money from consoles doesn't come from the hardware itself, but the games. That's where the profit margin is and attach rate is far more important as a result.

        Yes this is why MS has a plethora of next gen titles ready for launch when the Xbox Series X launches . . . oh wait.

        That's why Microsoft have focussed heavily on cross play

        And does your grand scheme of profit margin come into play considering developers have to spend resources to ensure games are cross play. Game porting isn't free. While porting from Xbox to PC or vice versa is easier than in years past it isn't a one button macro. Also MS isn't charging for both versions. Game Pass doesn't generate a lot of revenue per game.

    • Re: (Score:2)

      by Hodr ( 219920 )

      The GPU lead for Xbox is quantifiable given they are on the same architecture, but I haven't seen anything that shows a true comparison between the SSDs of both consoles. Given they are both custom designs it's not a simple comparison.

      I do know that multiple developers (like Gabe Newell) have said the Xbox is the superior platform in their opinion.

      It's not an issue for me as we will eventually purchase both to have access to the exclusive titles, but I find it odd you can be so confident that the unknown di

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by Entrope ( 68843 )

        Sony has said that the PS5 SSD supports SSD read speeds of 5.5 GB/sec raw, 8-9 GB/sec compressed. Microsoft quotes read speeds of 2.4 GB/sec raw, 4.8 GB/sec compressed for the Xbox Series X (and S). How is that less of "a true comparison" than the GPU FLOPs?

        From a survey during the last GDC, when developers were asked which platforms they were most interested in, the PS5 was the leader among console platforms with 38%. Xbox Series X/S came in a distant third, behind the Nintendo Switch (which closely tra

      • The GPU lead for Xbox is quantifiable given they are on the same architecture, but I haven't seen anything that shows a true comparison between the SSDs of both consoles. Given they are both custom designs it's not a simple comparison.

        Quantifiable but is it meaningful? I doubt they can play everything 4K at 120 fps. Some games are not optimized for that. And that's only the Series X. There's no way the Series S can do that. So what if the X can output slightly more if it does not matter.

    • The 20% higher GPU is actually far more significant than the SSD. The GPU will be the item that is the bottleneck in both systems. Similar to how people go out and buy an NVME drive to upgrade their SSD, doing that only makes a difference if the SSD is the primary bottleneck. Sony should get slightly fast load times but significantly worse overall performance.
    • The surprise for me is that people are still buying consoles. I had planned to go for something like an Xbox Series X, but I just bought an Occulus Quest 2, which is a standalone VR headset, and seriously I can't see myself going back. VR has reached the point where it's good enough and cheap enough. It's here, get it and don't look back. Playing Beat Sabre on 360 degrees spins you around a bit, tethering would be awful. You need good standalone capability. The only thing I want now is something I can run o

  • My partner is a PlayStation lover, and only because they love the controller.

    I've tried to convert them to other controllers, but it's a solid no-go.

    With how expensive consoles are, we can only afford one, so we'll be getting a PS5. Eventually.

    • Re:People love that controller (Score:4, Insightful)

      by Stormwatch ( 703920 ) <rodrigogirao AT hotmail DOT com> on Thursday October 29, 2020 @01:04PM (#60662796) Homepage

      Ew no, the Xbox-style arrangement (left stick on top) is far more ergonomic than the PS' unnatural symmetry.

      • I passionately agree, but this seems to be a trend with PlayStation lovers. They're used to it, so all other controllers are awkward.

        I love the wired Xbox360 controller (no battery pack made it much lighter) and the Steam Controller, but I also loved the original Xbox's "monster" controller, so I'm a bit of an outlier.

        • Big Duke was the best controller EVER. But then I have huge hands...

        • The XBox's original "monster" sized controller was very nice! Loved it! Shame that they dropped it for the "tiny hands" version which I dislike.

          Ironically, I really like the PS4 controller. It seems to be good balance of size, weight, and comfort.

          My X Box X controller feels "cheap". I also don't really care for the asymmetrical design.

          What's a good, modern X Box X controller worth trying?

      • is far more ergonomic than the PS' unnatural symmetry.

        Exactly what body part are you using to hold the controller? Because for most of us, we're using our hands. Which are symmetrical. Naturally so.

        (I prefer offset sticks as well, but that doesn't mean there's something "unnatural" about a symmetric design intended for symmetric hands.)

        • Most games now use mainly the left stick and the face buttons. And they are easier to reach (symmetrically so) on the Xbox style, as your thumbs will be close to a relaxed position. Like so. [istockphoto.com]

          On the other pair of hands, you have the PlayStation style. To reach the left stick, you need to stretch your thumb inwards. Like so. [freepik.com] And this makes it less comfortable.

          I think the PlayStation style is not so much a design, but a jerry-rigging. The Nintendo 64 came out and the advantages of an analog stick for 3D games b

          • Re: (Score:2)

            by khchung ( 462899 )

            Most games now use mainly the left stick and the face buttons.

            I don't know what games you play, but those I played on PS3/4 very often used both sticks AND all 8 face buttons, including the directional buttons on the left and the OX... buttons on the right. Not to mention the L1/2 & R1/2 buttons plus the touch pad and option button.

            Left stick to move and right stick to control the camera is almost universal now. The basic hand position is symmetrically for both hands have the thumb on the two sticks.

            The real problem is that the controller was designed for the av

            • I don't know what games you play

              PC games, so mostly keyboard and trackball. Controllers are mostly for emulators. And sometimes I use arcade sticks.

              those I played on PS3/4 very often used both sticks AND all 8 face buttons

              The PS has only four face buttons. Shoulder / trigger / paddle / dpad / whatever buttons are a distinct thing.

              Left stick to move and right stick to control the camera is almost universal now.

              I seriously dislike that. For 3D platformers, the camera controls should be on the shoulder buttons, leaving the thumb to control jumping and other actions. And for 3D shooting (which is better on the PC anyway), I prefer the left stick to aim, and face buttons to move. The right stick

      • Re: (Score:2)

        by khchung ( 462899 )

        Ew no, the Xbox-style arrangement (left stick on top) is far more ergonomic than the PS' unnatural symmetry.

        Somehow your hands are asymmetric? Why would an asymmetric controller be more ergonomic than a symmetric one, for people whose left and right hand are mirror image of each other?

    • Re: (Score:3)

      by Hodr ( 219920 )

      I use both, but slightly prefer the Xbox controller. That said, since the PS5 is making you purchase new controllers that means if I choose to go with the Series X I save about $180 in redundant controller purchases.

  • ive never sclapped something before, but for fun/curiosity, i did this year with an xbox series x package (come w/ extra controller) from costco (~$600 after tax).

    turns out ebay/paypal pocket 13% of the final price. ridiculous! on top of that, the buyer has to pay sales tax.

    the final bid + sales tax was >$800. after shipping/ebay/paypal costs, ill pocket ~$50.

    feels like i lost, the bidder lost -- only ebay/paypal won -- wont be doing that again.

  • Given how Sony majorly screwed up their pre-orders (they advertised it as September 17, but let retailers open them on the 16th), it basically meant the entire pre-order shipments got scooped up by the time they were supposed to open.

    I suspect Microsoft must've flustered them because the Xbox release seems polished compared to the PS5 release - Sony is probably used to doing things on their terms and Microsoft just happened to mess it up.

    Sure, Microsoft screwed up the preorders as well, because they managed

  • With people still isolating at home, I would think that getting a new console *now* to get through the winter season at home would be more of a priority. Hence, the sensibility of "wait 6 months" could very likely be a less palatable option than otherwise.
    • Consoles are not perishable goods. If they have a console already, it will still work unless something breaks. If there is a need to get one "now" instead of waiting, they can get previous generation consoles especially Xbox as there will be very few games that will launch in the next few months that take advantage of anything it has to offer. If they want a new console that is a different story.

  • Maybe this is really old school stuff. I haven't thought about it in years. But during the rare time I would buy a new PC the rule of thumb was to never buy it within the first few months. Because those first models were Revision A's. Sometimes if you waited you'd hear through the pipeline someone buying one, opening it up, and being able to tell it was a Revision B. Meaning there was a slight tweak to the hardware which wasn't necessarily a design flaw. More a slight change which would probably never be no

    • If there are it is internal parts that consumers don't see unless they take apart the consoles. Both Sony and MS do release models later that are definitely revisions like slim models. Normally the chipsets get smaller with die shrink over the years. Previously they relied on not the newest fabrication lines that could be shrunk using a new line. For example, both used AMD's Jaguar which was fabricated on a 28nm process in 2013. At the time, the leading edge was 22nm with 14nm a year later. However this tim

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