![\"PS5](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_260903870-4c7a.jpg\")
\n\t\tThe current gen consoles aren\u2019t exactly cheap themselves (Sony\/Microsoft\/Metro)<\/p>\n
\t\t
\n\t\tThe current gen consoles aren\u2019t exactly cheap themselves (Sony\/Microsoft\/Metro)<\/p>\n
As reports suggest the next gen consoles are going to be significantly more expensive than usual, a reader fears he\u2019s being priced out of being a video games<\/a> fan.<\/p>\n Video games have never exactly been cheap but there\u2019s always been ways round that. You have to buy the console, but in days gone by you could rent games and you could resell them once you played them. When I was a kid, I probably only got one or two full price games a year and yet I managed to play most of the big names through a combination of that and just borrowing off friends. Now though, all three of those methods are impossible.<\/p>\n There\u2019s no way to rent games (unless you count Game Pass<\/a>, but that doesn\u2019t include everything anyway) and eBay is the only option for second-hand, if the game even has a physical edition. I guess I could pop round my friend\u2019s house to play Final Fantasy<\/a> 7 Rebirth for an hour, but that\u2019s not really practical anymore, now neither of us are 14 anymore.<\/p>\n No, the only way to buy games cheaply is to wait for the sales or not to get them at all. And it\u2019s only going to get harder, as prices rise and rise, and probably rise again when we get to GTA<\/a> 6. Buying video games is a rich man\u2019s pastime now and in the next gen that\u2019s going to apply to the consoles as well.<\/p>\n This gen is already much more expensive than the last. The Xbox<\/a> Series X and PlayStation 5<\/a> are far more than they should be for such small advances on their predecessors, while the PS5 Pro is out of control stupid in terms of its price. I imagine that\u2019s going to be the baseline for the next gen though.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not sure what generation you want to put Switch 2<\/a> in but that\u2019s much more expensive than the last one, even though being cheap was one of the Switch 1\u2019s big selling points. And its games are actually more expensive than the average, when it comes to Mario Kart World<\/a>. Everything is pointing in only one direction.<\/p>\n And then we come to the news this week<\/a> that made me write this, and which confirms that next gen I\u2019m probably not going to be able to afford a PlayStation or Xbox at all. Everything to do with PlayStation 6 is a bit more vague<\/a> but we already know that Sony has no problem with charging well above the odds and they\u2019re going to do it even more now that Xbox is offering so little competition.<\/p>\n \t\t\t\tExpert, exclusive gaming analysis\t\t\t<\/p>\n Sign up to the GameCentral newsletter<\/strong><\/a> for a unique take on the week in gaming, alongside the latest reviews and more. Delivered to your inbox every Saturday morning.<\/p>\n \t\t Will Microsoft take advantage of this with a next gen equivalent of the Xbox Series S? No, according to the latest leaks they\u2019re going to make something hyper expensive that could be up to $1,000 or more. Basically, a desktop PC with an Xbox logo slapped on it.<\/p>\n You can kind of see why, since they\u2019ve obviously lost the console wars and there\u2019s no point doing the same thing again, but now that they\u2019re trying to appeal only to hardcore fans the price is ridiculous.<\/p>\n The problem is that being a hardcore fan didn\u2019t use to mean being rich. Sure, you\u2019d end up spending a lot of money on games but if that\u2019s your main hobby then all the methods I\u2019ve mentioned help you to do it within your means. But now all those safety nets are gone and the starting cost, of buying the console, has gone up too.<\/p>\n What\u2019s the alternative? Buy a PC, which is just as expensive and comes with all its obvious drawbacks, or get a Switch 2, which can\u2019t play the highest end games. Those aren\u2019t alternatives, those are compromises.<\/p>\n I\u2019m not a poor man but I am a family man, and it\u2019s got to the point where I can\u2019t be spending this amount of money on video games. It\u2019s just too much and companies aren\u2019t even trying to make them affordable.<\/p>\n The logic seems to be that if most people are happy with free-to-play games then you might as well fleece those that don\u2019t like that stuff for as much as possible, since they\u2019ll pay anything. Well, that\u2019s not true. I\u2019ll pay a lot but my wallet is not infinite and I\u2019ve got to call quits at some point and I think next gen will be it.<\/p>\n By reader Benson<\/strong><\/p>\n \t\t The reader\u2019s features do not necessarily represent the views of GameCentral or Metro.<\/p>\n You can submit your own 500 to 600-word reader feature at any time, which if used will be published in the next appropriate weekend slot. Just contact us at gamecentral@metro.co.uk<\/a> or use our Submit Stuff page<\/a> and you won\u2019t need to send an email.<\/p>\n Arrow Arrow Arrow![\"AMD](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_269245335-8041.jpg\")
\n\t\tAMD are making the chips for both the PS6 and next gen Xbox (Microsoft)<\/p>\n![\"Xbox](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/10\/SEI_269726305-30d4.jpg\")
\n\t\tEverything points towards the next gen Xbox being very expensive (Metro\/Microsoft)<\/p>\n
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