Sonys og Microsofts strategier når det kommer til lanceringen af next-gen konsoller er ret forskellige. Hvorimod Sony lancerer to identiske konsoller, bortset fra diskdrevet altså, så introducerer Microsoft to forskellige maskiner, der skal tjene to forskellige slags publikummer, i form af Xbox Series X og Xbox Series S.
Hvad synes Sony så om denne strategi? Ja, de kommenterer ikke direkte på Microsofts beslutning, men pointerer dog at konsoller som Series S, altså en mindre kraftfuld konsol udgivet sammen med en mere kraftfuld en, ikke historisk set har klaret sig så godt. I et interview med japanske AV Watch (oversat af VGC) siger PlayStation CEO Jim Ryan følgende:
"The first thing I would like to say is that I respect every competitor's decision and their philosophies. Clearly, price is a very important factor. We respect other companies' competitive strategies. However, we are fully committed to and believe in our current strategy and the effect it will have. One thing that can be said is that if you look at the history of the game business, creating a special low priced, reduced spec console is something that has not had great results in the past. We've considered that option and seen other executives who have attempted this discover how problematic it is. Based on our research, it's clear that people who buy a game console want to continue using it for four, five, six or even seven years. They want to believe they have bought something that is future-proofed and not going to be outdated in two-to-three years."
Det er umiddelbart svært at sige om Ryan har ret før vi ser konkrete Series S-tal. Vi synes dog at mindes at 2DS-salget endte ret positivt efter en nedsat pris i butikkerne, men det er også det eneste eksempel redaktionen lige kunne komme på.