PS5 vs. Switch vs. XBOXSX - THUNDERDOME Version 2.0

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by Since1984

It looks like pre-orders for XBOX All Access on both the Series X and S has launched at EBGames.

Financing is provided by RBC at 0% APR
Series S: $29.99 per month for 24 months
Series X: $39.99

Includes Game Pass Ultimate.

If you go this route you save money in the end:
https://mobilesyrup.com/2020/10/05/x...-games-canada/

That's a bit misleading. You save $50 over the course of two years if you have Game Plass Ultimate for the entire two years. But the financing is a hideous choice if you are just interested in the Xbox Series X, costing you and extra $360 over two years. And if you don't play on PC AND Xbox but do want Game Pass? Well, you'd only need the console version of Game Pass, and this ends up costing you an extra $70 over two years.

Woof.

There's never not a catch in 24-month 0% financing.

[Since1984]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

That's a bit misleading. You save $50 over the course of two years if you have Game Plass Ultimate for the entire two years. But the financing is a hideous choice if you are just interested in the Xbox Series X, costing you and extra $360 over two years. And if you don't play on PC AND Xbox but do want Game Pass? Well, you'd only need the console version of Game Pass, and this ends up costing you an extra $70 over two years.

Woof.

There's never not a catch in 24-month 0% financing.

Of course there is always a catch, I should have added that if all you want is the console and the regular $8.99 console version of Game Pass then Xbox ALL-ACCESS is not the choice for you.

But for those who are already paying the $16.99 a month for XBOX Game Pass Ultimate, and wasn't able to secure an XBOX Series S/X pre-order, its a great option and you save $50.

If you only want the console version of Game Pass, which doesn't include XBOX Live Gold (the ability to play multiplayer online), then you are right.

The catch with a 24 month payment saving you money is for Microsoft to lock you into their ecosystem for 2 years, give you everything they believe gamers want in a tidy little package, and get these expensive console to people who can't afford the lump sum payment of $630 on day one.

Don't act like it isn't a great option for the exact audience they are targeting here.

[PepsiFree]

How many people who can't afford an Xbox X on day one are planning to run both an Xbox X and a gaming PC? or how many need to be "locked in" because they might turn around and buy a PS5?

24-month financing preys on lower income people and splits the cost over a longer period to give the false sense of it being affordable, when in actuality it will cost more money over that time for most people.

It's a nice option to have, but it's certain not a great option and is not really a sound long-term financial decision for people who can't afford the system outright.

If you can't afford $600 outright, you can't afford it.

[Since1984]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

How many people who can't afford an Xbox X on day one are planning to run both an Xbox X and a gaming PC? or how many need to be "locked in" because they might turn around and buy a PS5?

24-month financing preys on lower income people and splits the cost over a longer period to give the false sense of it being affordable, when in actuality it will cost more money over that time for most people.

It's a nice option to have, but it's certain not a great option and is not really a sound long-term financial decision for people who can't afford the system outright.

If you can't afford $600 outright, you can't afford it.

I think you are putting too much stock into playing on both console and PC, the biggest differentiator between Game Pass ultimate and Console Game Pass is the fact XBOX Live Gold (which costs $11.99 by itself) is included.

Online multiplayer is one of the main reasons why people play video games. I am not saying it is THE main reason, some people strictly play single player offline games and once again this isn't the right choice for them.

And yes, you are correct about the fact that if you can't afford it on day one, you probably shouldn't buy it until you can handle paying for it all upfront. But not everyone is as fiscally competent as you and for those that are willing to put themselves into consumer debt with a payment plan, it is an option.

I have removed good/great from my explanation of the option as these words seem to be what you key on.

[dino7c]

Reminds me of broke people with $1200 phones

Also, you can get gamepass ultimate for way less than $16.99/month

[ComixZone]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

That's a bit misleading. You save $50 over the course of two years if you have Game Plass Ultimate for the entire two years. But the financing is a hideous choice if you are just interested in the Xbox Series X, costing you and extra $360 over two years. And if you don't play on PC AND Xbox but do want Game Pass? Well, you'd only need the console version of Game Pass, and this ends up costing you an extra $70 over two years.

Woof.

There's never not a catch in 24-month 0% financing.

Xbox Live Gold --> 11.99/month
GamePass --> 11.99/month

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate --> 16.99 (GamePass + Gold)

If you want GamePass and Gold (to get Gold games and play online), then the 2 year financing is a pretty good deal.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by ComixZone

Xbox Live Gold --> 11.99/month
GamePass --> 11.99/month

Xbox Game Pass Ultimate --> 16.99 (GamePass + Gold)

If you want GamePass and Gold (to get Gold games and play online), then the 2 year financing is a pretty good deal.

You can get Gold for the year for $69.99 right? So works out to like 17.80 for the two (without any discounts for GamePass, which there always seems to be).

We're talking $20 difference over two years though without discounts.

What you'd be wise to do, if you want to save even more money (anyone with an Xbox should do this) is buy 2 years worth of Xbox live and then sign up for Game Pass Ultimate, which will convert you to Ultimate for 2 years and 1 month for just the cost of Live before you have to renew.

Basically, there are a handful of ways to save more money with very very little effort to get the exact same thing the financing is offering you. It's just unwise to do on every level (but is going to attract people who are unwise with their money).

[SuperMatt18]

Honestly anybody getting into Xbox right now should buy three years of gold (that’s the max) and then convert it to Game Pass ultimate for $1.

Best way to get value on Xbox.

[dino7c]

Those rent2own places have been doing this with consoles for years...you really shouldn't be financing something that costs $600 IMO

This isn't really a console wars thing, I'm sure someone will be doing a PS5 option once they actually have to work to sell them

[McG]

Originally Posted by dino7c

Reminds me of broke people with $1200 phones

Also, you can get gamepass ultimate for way less than $16.99/month

Please post the link for the “way less”. Yes Xbox live gold goes on sale every so often but I haven’t seen any discounts on game pass yet. I’ll be looking on US thanksgiving sales and Boxing Day.

I’m not being snarky here I genuinely want a better deal than $17 per month.

[McG]

Originally Posted by SuperMatt18

Honestly anybody getting into Xbox right now should buy three years of gold (that’s the max) and then convert it to Game Pass ultimate for $1.

Best way to get value on Xbox.

Did this work for you? The last that I saw was a prorated calculation and not a 1:1 swap.

I’m sure that there will be a credit given when ea play bundles in but at $30 per year that’s only $2.50 per month.

[SuperMatt18]

I think it only works one time the first time you move to Game Pass ultimate. That’s how it used to work at least https://www.theverge.com/2019/6/18/1...-months-how-to

After that it I think it converts a year of gold to 4 months of Gamepass.

[dino7c]

Originally Posted by McG

Please post the link for the “way less”. Yes Xbox live gold goes on sale every so often but I haven’t seen any discounts on game pass yet. I’ll be looking on US thanksgiving sales and Boxing Day.

I’m not being snarky here I genuinely want a better deal than $17 per month.

If you already have xbox gold live...$22 for 3 months of gamepass

https://www.cdkeys.com/3-month-xbox-...data1=gamepass

Watch the videogames section of redflagdeals

I have heard if you let your account expire you can still do the $1 upgrade stick

[Inferno]

I haven't had any luck getting the $1 Game Pass Ultimate deal back but I've been getting Game Pass PC for $1 for the last 5-6 months. I just turn off auto-renew and on the 1st of every month go to Microsoft's site and it gives me it.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

24-month financing preys on lower income people and splits the cost over a longer period to give the false sense of it being affordable, when in actuality it will cost more money over that time for most people.

In most cases where an 'admin fee' is charged, sure, you'd be right because the 'admin fee' is basically interest paid upfront.

But if there are no fees (which the article says there aren't any), and you want an XSX and Game Pass Ultimate, then you save $50 after taxes over the 24 months versus buying outright. There is no scenario in which it will cost more over the same 24 month period. In a case like this where you are getting a true 0%, then IMO it's always better to use someone else's capital for free and putting yours to work elsewhere.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

In most cases where an 'admin fee' is charged, sure, you'd be right because the 'admin fee' is basically interest paid upfront.

But if there are no fees (which the article says there aren't any), and you want an XSX and Game Pass Ultimate, then you save $50 after taxes over the 24 months versus buying outright. There is no scenario in which it will cost more over the same 24 month period. In a case like this where you are getting a true 0%, then IMO it's always better to use someone else's capital for free and putting yours to work elsewhere.

As I pointed out, even in the scenario where you would buy the XSX and Ultimate, that can be had for cheaper and save you more than the $50 without financing.

There are several scenarios where the financing will cost you more. Just buying 24 months of Xbox Live and then upgrading to Ultimate will save you $131, or $81 MORE than the financing will save you. And that's with basically zero effort.

For more effort, you can turn off auto-renew and buy the ultimate pass each month. Doing that this year would've saved you $64, and that's not considering what you might have saved in year 2.

I would agree that 0% and no admin fee for 24 months would be great, but there is always the catch with it, and in this case, the catch is that you're locked into a price which you could reduce further by taking advantage of any number of deals (which you lose access to with financing). In all likelihood, the "admin fee" here is realistically about $80.

[TorqueDog]

Originally Posted by PepsiFree

As I pointed out, even in the scenario where you would buy the XSX and Ultimate, that can be had for cheaper and save you more than the $50 without financing.

There are several scenarios where the financing will cost you more. Just buying 24 months of Xbox Live and then upgrading to Ultimate will save you $131, or $81 MORE than the financing will save you. And that's with basically zero effort.

For more effort, you can turn off auto-renew and buy the ultimate pass each month. Doing that this year would've saved you $64, and that's not considering what you might have saved in year 2.

I would agree that 0% and no admin fee for 24 months would be great, but there is always the catch with it, and in this case, the catch is that you're locked into a price which you could reduce further by taking advantage of any number of deals (which you lose access to with financing). In all likelihood, the "admin fee" here is realistically about $80.

That's not an apples to apples comparison though. Person A buying an XSX outright and subscribing from day one to GamePass Ultimate and Person B doing the 24 month plan is apples to apples.

Can you get it cheaper by fiddling with subscriptions and doing the upgrade, of course you can. But doing it Person B's way is not more expensive than Person A's method until the console goes on sale in a retail store (provided the plan price isn't adjusted as the console's MSRP goes down). And that makes it pretty hard to make the argument that it 'preys' on lower income people as you did.

[PepsiFree]

Originally Posted by TorqueDog

That's not an apples to apples comparison though. Person A buying an XSX outright and subscribing from day one to GamePass Ultimate and Person B doing the 24 month plan is apples to apples.

Can you get it cheaper by fiddling with subscriptions and doing the upgrade, of course you can. But doing it Person B's way is not more expensive than Person A's method until the console goes on sale in a retail store (provided the plan price isn't adjusted as the console's MSRP goes down). And that makes it pretty hard to make the argument that it 'preys' on lower income people as you did.

Of course it's apples to apples. If the option is on the table, it applies.

If you can spend less by buying the XSX alone outright, and you can spend less by buying the XSX outright and taking advantage of easy deals on Ultimate (if you want it), then who does this help, exactly?

Low income people who cannot afford the XSX outright. And they will pay more than they could otherwise by buying the two separately, which is why it preys on them. It dangles a carrot that says "here's an affordable way to get this!" but ends up costing them more than they could otherwise save if they bought the console outright. You can't just ignore the fact that better deals are on the table and easily accessible to everyone.

"Person A" exists, but you're basically saying "this is a good deal if don't care about deals and would otherwise spend the absolute most you could spend on this." Like... woohoo... great.

Want to buy the XSX alone? It's a bad deal.
Want to buy the XSX and Live? It's a bad deal.
Want to buy the XSX and GP? It's a bad deal.
Want to buy the XSX and GPU on a deal? It's a bad deal.
Want to buy the XSX and GPU and pay full price for both? It's a good deal!

I'm not even sure why there's any pushback on this.

[TorqueDog]

Do you clip all the coupons before you go grocery shopping? Serious question.

[Esoteric]

I think the XBOX All Access is a great way for people to get a console, and a great move by Microsoft.

It simplifies the buying process, and allows for people who may not be able to afford the upfront cost of a new console, to get the device immediately, and to get access to a large catalog of games on Day 1.

There's not a major difference in price when you factor in the cost of borrowing for an individual.

If you have the money to buy it up front - good for you, go ahead and buy it outright. If you don't, and still want a new console, this is a great way to get into the game.