Home Gaming The Xbox One is worth more than the PlayStation 4

The Xbox One is worth more than the PlayStation 4

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xboxone-exploded

When Microsoft announced the price of the Xbox One the gaming community was shocked that they were going to enter the market at a higher price point than their main rival, the PlayStation 4.

But now that both consoles have been released it is starting to become obvious why that is.

According to the research firm IHS, who have given AllThingsD an exclusive look into the costing of the Xbox One, the Xbox One from Microsoft is worth a full $90 more than the PlayStation 4 when taking into account the costs of all the parts in the box.

So on a purely technological basis the Xbox One is the more valuable console, however we know that doesn’t mean much in the long run.

But let’s look at why it is worth more as there are some surprises.

First up the Kinect takes up a full $75 of that extra value so when comparing the actual boxes and only the boxes then the difference comes down to $15. Two thirds of that difference is down to the processor which appears to be more valuable in the Xbox One than the PlayStation 4 which I personally found to be quite surprising.

Sony grabs some glory back with it’s more powerful and expensive DDR5 RAM.

However what really blew me away was that the Xbox One controller is estimated to cost $15, that’s less than R150 for something we know will be sold for over R600. Talk about milking your profit right there.

The entire read up is quite interesting so click through to see that.

xbone-kinect-exploded

I love these images of the hardware, look how much detail goes into these things, the real question is though does the familiar saying “You get what you pay for” apply here or does the added Kinect nullify that?

Last Updated: November 27, 2013

65 Comments

  1. Kensei Seraph

    November 27, 2013 at 14:03

    So anyone know if it’s possible to skip the retailer and go straight to the manufacturer to purchase a Xbone controller?

    Reply

    • RyseandRepeat

      November 27, 2013 at 14:08

      A very good point. Smarts something hard to know I am paying R450 more profit extra…

      Reply

    • Gavin Mannion

      November 27, 2013 at 14:09

      Not possible.. the manufacturer can only sell to MS who only sell to the public at RRP

      Reply

      • InsanityFlea

        November 27, 2013 at 14:23

        It’s okay, you don’t have to name your ‘contacts’ here.

        Reply

      • FoxOneZA

        November 27, 2013 at 14:27

        Think you guys need to do a RRP round up PS4 stuffs. I heard the RRP for games are R800.

        Reply

        • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

          November 27, 2013 at 15:10

          If that’s the case (highly doubt it), then I’ll just import via amazon and co. Local distributors won’t see a penny from me or my gamer buddies. I suppose that’s the gamble they’ll have to play.

          Reply

          • Jonah Cash

            November 27, 2013 at 15:32

            Yeah if the PS4 is not region locked then why would we pay higher for games if they can be imported for cheaper…..

          • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

            November 27, 2013 at 15:51

            That’s what the local distributors don’t seem to get – gone are the days where we were completely dependent on them. While they might nickle and dime some (while colluding with retailers, enjoy the cents lads…), nowadays, a better deal is but a click away.

          • Jonah Cash

            November 27, 2013 at 15:57

            I bought my Christmas gifts on Takealot on Sunday, they were delivered yesterday… And I didn’t have to go to a mall…. That is sooooooo much win for me, as I really hate people!!!

    • Sageville

      November 27, 2013 at 14:10

      Sure, for every order of 1000000 or more units you can probably get a 75% discount.

      Reply

    • FoxOneZA

      November 27, 2013 at 14:12

      The 360 controller for PC is R299 excl vat. at a certain wholesaler so shops aren’t making that much of the device if you consider it’s R500 at BT Games.

      Reply

      • John's (JJ's) finest excuse

        November 27, 2013 at 14:15

        It’s 400 at Computer Mania. Or, at least, that’s how much I paid for it there.

        Reply

        • TiMsTeR1033

          November 27, 2013 at 14:21

          rip off!

          Reply

        • FoxOneZA

          November 27, 2013 at 14:22

          That’s cheap. It was R399 at BT’s sale last year. Trading in some games to get it cheaper.

          Reply

          • TiMsTeR1033

            November 27, 2013 at 14:23

            sad to trade in games for a controller

          • John's (JJ's) finest excuse

            November 27, 2013 at 14:25

            We’ve all bought games that turned out to be crappy.

          • TiMsTeR1033

            November 27, 2013 at 14:27

            wwe 12 here is looking at you!

          • HvR

            November 27, 2013 at 14:27

            Does somebody know if you need to pay BT games to take a second hand copy of ACM?

          • Lord Chaos

            November 27, 2013 at 14:28

            Yea, they want R250 just to take it back.

          • John's (JJ's) finest excuse

            November 27, 2013 at 14:29

            I’m still getting used to the acronyms. ACM?

          • Lord Chaos

            November 27, 2013 at 14:30

            Aliens: Colon Massacre

          • TiMsTeR1033

            November 27, 2013 at 14:30

            Why would you buy that?

          • Lord Chaos

            November 27, 2013 at 14:31

            Sounded like a good idea at the time.

          • John's (JJ's) finest excuse

            November 27, 2013 at 14:31

            We’ve all been there.

          • TiMsTeR1033

            November 27, 2013 at 14:31

            I never bought a game that bad!

          • John's (JJ's) finest excuse

            November 27, 2013 at 14:35

            Well, I suppose it depends on your own opinion of a game. I’ve bought games that I really feel I wasted my money on, but others love it.
            But, colonial marines is one of those everybody-hates games

          • TiMsTeR1033

            November 27, 2013 at 14:36

            indeed! That game deserves to be taken off the shelves for good! I saw a guy in bt games buying it… I just laughed, he didn’t get it but the guy at the till still told me when he walked out, “shame on his poor soul”

          • John's (JJ's) finest excuse

            November 27, 2013 at 14:31

            Nice. I’m actually curious to play it, just to see how terrible it is. But, naturally, won’t actually pay money for it.

          • Lord Chaos

            November 27, 2013 at 14:32

            I forced myself to finish it. Then washed my eyes out with bleach.

          • TiMsTeR1033

            November 27, 2013 at 14:33

            you forced yourself to make you feel like it wasn’t soooo bad, when really it was, you lied to yourself at the time.

          • HvR

            November 27, 2013 at 14:31

            Aliens: Colonial Marines

          • TiMsTeR1033

            November 27, 2013 at 14:32

            Btgames will give you R20 so rather used it as a coaster

          • HvR

            November 27, 2013 at 14:33

            But the bad design might seep through the glass and make my whisky taste like Wellington VO.

          • TiMsTeR1033

            November 27, 2013 at 14:33

            Then find a high area and throw it like a frisbee!

          • Kensei Seraph

            November 27, 2013 at 14:41

            You’d be the first person to get life in prison for littering.

          • Lord Chaos

            November 27, 2013 at 14:42

            Not just littering, intentional soil poisoning.

          • John's (JJ's) finest excuse

            November 27, 2013 at 14:35

            Boom!

          • TiMsTeR1033

            November 27, 2013 at 14:37

            I like Wellington VO

          • John's (JJ's) finest excuse

            November 27, 2013 at 14:52

            I actually don’t know, tbh. I don’t drink brandy much.

          • That Tall Twit

            November 27, 2013 at 15:01

            ^This!

          • TiMsTeR1033

            November 27, 2013 at 14:31

            The will give you R20 for it

          • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

            November 27, 2013 at 15:13

            Rather use it as a frisbee or as a makeshift mirror….

          • FoxOneZA

            November 27, 2013 at 14:26

            Why? Those were SP centric games. Bionic Commando and Tomb Raider Legends.

          • TiMsTeR1033

            November 27, 2013 at 14:27

            We shouldn’t have to, controllers should be cheaper.

    • dukypaa323

      November 27, 2013 at 20:44

      My Uncle Xavier got an awesome 12 month old Honda Accord Plug-In
      Hybrid Sedan by working part-time from a macbook air… check this site out
      http://www.?ay35.? o?

      Reply

      • Brian Murphy

        November 28, 2013 at 08:34

        I heard he did it doing private Donkey Shows in Mexico…how embarrassing for you and your family.

        Reply

  2. John's (JJ's) finest excuse

    November 27, 2013 at 14:14

    Mmm. Naked hardware.

    Reply

    • TiMsTeR1033

      November 27, 2013 at 14:20

      hmmm naked….

      Reply

  3. FoxOneZA

    November 27, 2013 at 14:14

    On a sidenote, what I find interesting is the Xbox 360 never really went down in price since launch. It’s always been around R3800-R4000 for the top 360 console.

    Reply

    • Gavin Mannion

      November 27, 2013 at 14:16

      Yeah they were very clever with the way they released new hardware options. There was one price drop afaik

      Reply

  4. TiMsTeR1033

    November 27, 2013 at 14:16

    talk about being ripped off on controllers!!

    Reply

  5. Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

    November 27, 2013 at 14:16

    Actually…. what was really shown was that EVEN THOUGH the xbone has the WEAKER and LESS POWERFUL components, Microsoft PAID MORE for their components than Sony. For instance, somehow Sony got a better deal with AMD, and on top of it, even without the Kinect, the bone still comes in price heavy (shocking) so Microsoft isn’t making a profit on this console. That is a blunder… a serious one! Heads should roll!

    I think it all boils down to Microsoft scrambling since Feb to get a console out, whereas Sony clearly had more time to strike up deals with vendors, run through different prototypes and price the console correctly.

    Reply

    • HvR

      November 27, 2013 at 14:22

      I think it is because MS went for a internally more complicated design due to the ESRAM which can increase silicon foundry cost a lot which will reflect in the cost for the AMD component. Where as Sony definitely has a more complicated MB design to compensate for the GDDR5 latency which something than will not be reflected in these teardowns.

      EDIT: these teardown are very rough with a lot of “insider info” and estimation so I won’t be surprised if any of the estimations will be off so much as $50 either way.

      Reply

      • InsanityFlea

        November 27, 2013 at 14:25

        This man has the answer.

        Reply

        • HvR

          November 27, 2013 at 14:35

          Only an educated guess.

          But I know AMD won’t screw over either MS or Sony in this tough market and beating they were getting from Intel and Nvidia they need every big client they can find.

          Reply

    • FoxOneZA

      November 27, 2013 at 14:25

      Not sure about getting a better deal because from my hardware experience with PC’s, you get Transcend memory and then you get Dynet memory which costs half the amount yet they both are DDR3 1333. Obviously, the Transcend will go on forever.

      Reply

  6. Paul Gbel

    November 27, 2013 at 14:50

    so it’s worth more as the Kinect is $75 lol have you seen IGN or anyone try the Kinect sensor for the fighter game lol it’s WORSE than the 360 one HAHAHAH.

    Reply

  7. ALKi1234

    November 27, 2013 at 15:01

    That power brick alone is 100$ and almost the size of the entire PS4.

    Reply

    • Jim Lenoir (Banana Jim)

      November 27, 2013 at 15:09

      It’s massive… you could kill a man with it.

      Reply

  8. house_hero

    November 27, 2013 at 15:20

    Microsoft had to compensate for RROD warranty extensions with controller profits.

    Reply

  9. raceReady

    November 27, 2013 at 15:22

    This is such a good article now I really want to buy a box one now

    Reply

  10. raceReady

    November 27, 2013 at 15:24

    Imagine this article ended with: even with all the extra “money” thrown at the xbox one it still has 45% less power…

    But that would require back bone and the ability to have an opinion.

    Why not just link to the M$ PR site

    Reply

  11. ToshZA

    November 27, 2013 at 16:29

    If only value was determined by the value of its parts. No, the controller is awesome, and people are happy to pay more for it. Why? Supply and demand. The Xbone is meant to be awesome for everything that isn’t a game. People want that supposedly, so, price goes up again.

    Any time you make something unique, you make it desirable, and therefore can charge more for it. Simple as that. Doesn’t matter that the parts were made in china for cheap cheap 5 dorra.

    Reply

  12. bowlingotter

    November 27, 2013 at 21:47

    Well, there’s “value” and then there’s price.

    Reply

  13. Gr8_Balls_o_Fire

    November 28, 2013 at 09:08

    The controllers will sell for over R800 I think

    Reply

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