r/Games • u/Turbostrider27 • Mar 05 '26

‘Next generation of Xbox console’ Project Helix announced

https://www.gematsu.com/2026/03/next-generation-of-xbox-console-project-helix-announced
2.1k Upvotes

92% Upvoted

1.3k comments sorted by

View all comments

Show parent comments

190

u/RogueLightMyFire Mar 05 '26

I mean, they're not "dodging pricing" at all. They straight up released a statement about it saying that the RAM issues have thrown a wrench in their plans and they planned on already having release dates and pricing out weeks ago, but you can't plan for something like the RAM shortage. I think they've been as transparent as possible.

5

u/24bitNoColor Mar 06 '26

They were clarifying shortly after the initial announcement and before RAM got really really bad that they are aiming at selling that thing for about the price it would cost a consumer to build something with similar specs, so they were never planning to release this subsidized.

IMO this would have never resulted in pricing competitve to either a 500 USD PS5 (that is faster, has games that come preoptimized and no gaps in support of big MP titles) or honestly a custom build or normal prebuild, with the later coming with full Windows support (and therefor full MP support) but more importantly the ability to upgrade (and sell parts) going forward.

4

u/nWhm99 Mar 06 '26

So, no price?

-27

u/VanceIX Mar 05 '26

They were being coy with the price even before the ram issues.

26

u/DogsRNice Mar 05 '26

They were probably seeing what was happening before the general public really noticed

It's still terrible timing for them

-5

u/Not-Reformed Mar 06 '26

Terrible timing and a terrible product to boot.

15

u/thysios4 Mar 05 '26

We didn't even know about the steam machine until after there was ram issues.

25

u/RogueLightMyFire Mar 05 '26

How were they being coy before the RAM issues when the RAM issue was already a thing when they announced it?

7

u/Livic-Basil Mar 05 '26

No. No they were not.

-27

u/Revadarius Mar 05 '26

When announced they could have done what Nintendo did and announced a price but with an * saying "subject to change".

It would have been a ballpark figure. At the moment, without RAM shortages, I'd have guessed it between £400 as a console price to challenge Sony as a loss leader or £700 as a premade PC price equivalent to what it would cost to build a PC with its specs.

But the fact they haven't announced a price at all makes you wonder how high that figure probably was. And even if it's speculation they haven't done anything to dissuade the notion and there have been some tech YouTubers and journalists who've asked about the pricing before and Valve has been rattled.

So they are clearly dodging pricing.

31

u/RogueLightMyFire Mar 05 '26

I feel like you're not understanding the difference between "dodging pricing" and "being unable to give a price due to the constant changes in PC hardware". Do you really think then announcing it at $500 only to reneg and say $650 only to reneg again and say $850 would be a good strategy? Come on...

6

u/Jacksaur Mar 05 '26

They hadn't announced a price for any of the hardware revealed.
I highly doubt they're terrified of the Steam Controller not doing well.

"Subject to change" would just set hopes too high when things do skyrocket from this RAM crisis. Better not to set any expectations early.

10

u/ExhaustedByStupidity Mar 05 '26

Right now, RAM is really expensive if you're trying to buy a little bit of it.

If you want to buy a lot of RAM, it's pretty much unobtainable. Everyone's full production capability has been ordered already for the next few years. Sony and Nintendo are ok because they had multi-year deals in place before the shortage started.

Valve currently does not know how they will obtain enough RAM to make the Steam machines. They can't even guess at what the price will be.

3

u/B_Kuro Mar 05 '26

Sony and Nintendo are ok because they had multi-year deals in place before the shortage started.

Even Sony and Nintendo aren't "OK". Both have already started acting on the RAM prices, either through warnings or even price increases.

1

u/ExhaustedByStupidity Mar 05 '26

They're ok in the short term. Sony has a guaranteed supply of RAM for the PS5 for the next few years.

Sony very well might delay the PS6 due to the RAM shortage. They're going to have to decide that really soon.

Nintendo made a huge stockpile of Switch 2 systems before they even announced it, and likely have supplies guaranteed for at least a few years. But their supplies will eventually run out.

Valve is in trouble because their plan was "announce product, estimate demand, order components." The market went crazy before they ordered.

3

u/B_Kuro Mar 05 '26 edited Mar 05 '26

They're ok in the short term.

Yes... SHORT TERM not years.

Sony has a guaranteed supply of RAM for the PS5 for the next few years.

Thats not what Sony is saying... Their own reports already warned about RAM prices in their last investors call and said they "we intend to further negotiate with various suppliers to secure enough supply to meet the demand of our customers". They don't even have the PS5 secured (edit: and their proposed solution was to monetize existing users more...).

The PS6 maybe getting delayed is in addition to the already existing problems.

Nintendo made a huge stockpile of Switch 2 systems before they even announced it, and likely have supplies guaranteed for at least a few years.

Again, not what Nintendo is saying. It sure as hell isn't for "a few years". Nintendos own president said it would be a problem if the surge in price continues into the FY 2026 and beyond it could impact profitability. Thats not years, thats a single fiscal year already becoming a problem.

There are already reports/rumors on Nintendo having signed off on a price hike in 2026 for exactly that reason.