Despite all the excitement building up about the next generation of consoles, people still know little about what Microsoft and Sony have up their sleeves. At least Xbox Series X has a concrete design, but all the competitor has revealed are a few technical details and a name.
Whatever the two end up doing, let's hope they don't shoot themselves in the foot by making any of these mistakes when they announce and launch their next pieces of hardware. At least thanks to modern technology most of these errors can be fixed with patches. With that being said, they'd still negatively affect sales and the way the public perceives both the device and the company.
10 Increase Online Subscription Prices, Strip Features
PlayStaion Plus and Xbox Live are both reasonably priced. Hopefully the cost plateaus into the next consoles, because there is nothing stopping either company from both raising the price and taking away some key under appreciated features. What if Sony axed the free games or the ability for guest accounts without PS Plus to play online if the system's main profile is a subscriber? With so many players already locked into their respective infrastructures, it would be harder for them to take their dollars elsewhere without losing so much content they already invested in.
9 Make Always Online Mandatory
Microsoft already made this mistake in the last generation, but they remedied the issue before launch. More people are connected than ever before, making the prospect of staying online more feasible, but making it mandatory would still be a huge inconvenience for gamers. If their Internet is down or something else prevents them from plugging in, are they supposed to just be content not being able to play games that would otherwise work without a connection?
8 Make Games $70
Games have been sixty dollars since the PS3 and Xbox 360 generation. With the price of development increasing all the time, one would expect the price to go up. Instead, publishers have found other, sometime controversial, ways to gain revenue like loot boxes and consmetic upgrades.
If this is the tradeoff for keeping base games at sixty dollars, then some consider it a worthwhile price. Increasing the regular cost by ten dollars may just cause an uproar no company wants to deal with.
7 Restrict Game Sharing
This was another feature proposed for the Xbox One which was quickly overturned after extreme backlash. With the new systems coming up, the same worries start to flash in gamers' minds that one of the companies will try to prevent used games from working in other consoles or enact a licensing fee before allowing the disc to run. Players have not changed in the seven years between generations, so a similar announcement would likely cause an equal amount of upset among fans, perhaps prompting some to switch loyalties.
6 Cost More Than Five Hundred Dollars
Using what little we know about the systems, they both seem to be pushing the technological envelope. Using the best of the best resources often means incurring a high price tag. The PS3 sold at a loss despite its then astronomical cost of five hundred and six hundred dollars. Costing this much again would might prompt many to just go for the cheaper option, regardless of quality. Maybe it would be in their best interest to offer budget options, like the Xbox One S, if the premium model's price gets too high.
5 Gimmicks
New features are always welcome and expected with a new generation, but they are always intended to make the user interface smoother or heighten a gaming experience.
Gimmicks, on the other hand, present a facade of comfort while really being no more than a party trick. Kinect's use on the Xbox One didn't really change the way it worked in one's living room and was eventually phased out of the console. The Wii U's Gamepad was just a second screen, not adding much to the experience like the WiiMotes did for the Wii.
4 Red Ring Of Death-Like Incident
Maybe this one is unforeseeable if it does happen. No one likes a console destroying itself, and both companies went through a similar crisis. Many early PS2 models stopped working after two years, and the Xbox 360's crisis was so infamous it is the namesake for this entry.
Should the worst happen and such an incident occurs, the company must take all steps to save face and ensure replacing the dead systems don't cost the gamers an arm and a leg.
3 A Weak Launch Lineup
Many of the new games are expected to be cross generational. If this is the case for both consoles, it could make early adopters feel like their investment is not worthwhile. At the same time, it could be a welcome change, giving players and the industry a nice transition period as opposed to making anyone feel left out just because they cannot buy the newest, most expensive console right away. Without some killer exclusive launch titles, however, the consoles could potentially suffer at first. The Wii U is a recent case of a system which had a rocky start due to its lack of any big launch title.
2 Shortage At Launch
Does scarcity create hype and demand? Maybe in some cases, but in other situations it may just cause a more casual audience to look for the next available option. The Wii had a notorious shortage back in its launch, though its luxury of being the cheapest modern console around prevented this issue. Should the PS5 and Series X have similar price tags, a solid handful of consumers will go for the option stocked in stores if what they originally intended to purchase is out of stock. Unlike most of the entries on this list, this mistake won't hurt the hardware's quality, but instead the company's wallet.
1 Being Less User Friendly At Launch Than The Current Generation Systems
One would hope the consoles function and run smoother than what is currently in gamers' living rooms. One has to remember, though, this is new hardware and it goes through its growing pains. However, if features are missing or the act of navigating the menus is more difficult, it would be a detriment to the console. Some people are probably still sore about the PS4's lack of a CD drive. Other potential examples include Spotify potentially working poorer or the plethora of streaming services being harder to use at launch.