(Image credit: Sony Interactive Entertainment)

2020: The Year of the Scalper

The bots got me bad this year, and scalper prices are ridiculous. I made sure to get up extra early for every release with the intent on getting either a Nvidia RTX 3080, Xbox Series X, PlayStation 5, or finally an AMD RX 6800. Watching every website go from “coming soon” to “sold out” within seconds was beyond frustrating that buying an overpriced unit became plausible. However, should anyone think about purchasing from scalpers? The easy answer is no, none of the products are worth two to three times the MSRP, especially during a recession. First generation consoles and graphics cards are notorious for issues, and early reports show a wide range of problems for the new generation of technology. For example, see Screenrant’s Biggest Xbox Series X Problems Reported or Game Rant’s Sony Ps5 Consoles were made with louder fans. In addition, later models of the products will have advanced options that make the current generation instantly outdated. After all, most games available on the newest equipment are out on older systems with no loss of gameplay. There is a boost in graphics, but only for those that have a powerful enough monitor or tv.

There are currently only a few next gen exclusives. With a PlayStation 4, Xbox One, or decent computer, one can play most games available. In fact, Microsoft has committed to making any of their latest titles playable on other systems and not just on the Xbox One or PC. Xbox Game Pass Ultimate holders can currently play their games on android devices, see the Cloud gaming with Xbox Game Pass Ultimate page. There are some Xbox Game Studios titles that will just have a PC alternative, but none of those titles are out yet. This means that Xbox One owners can enjoy all the available content on the Xbox Series X, with longer load times and less graphics.

On the other hand, Sony has made it clear that they believe in console generations and taking advantage of the latest system in an interview with Jim Ryan by gameindustry.biz. While that sounds as if all new PlayStation titles are now PS5 only, current exclusives such as Marvel’s Spider-Man: Miles Morales and Sackboy: A Big Adventure have a PS4 version. There are only a couple of titles that do not have alternative options on PlayStation 5. The first one is Astro’s Playroom, a game designed exclusively to show off the capabilities of the DualSense controller and PS5 console. While the second title is Demon’s Souls, a remastered PS3 game. As of right now, PlayStation 4 owners can still play the most desired games besides these two. There are PS5 exclusives on the way like Gran Turismo 7, Horizon Forbidden West, and Ratchet & Clank: Rift Apart, but not until sometime next year.

What about those fancy new powerful graphics cards? Both new chipsets from AMD and Nvidia are amazing, but each have their own drawbacks. The AMD RX 6000 series will need programming from developers to take full advantage of the card. Looking at Cyberpunk 2077’s System Requirements shows that no AMD chipset is rated for ray tracing currently. That list shows this highly anticipated game is supported by much older and more affordable cards, even for RTX. Most PC players will be able to enjoy Cyberpunk 2077 on their current rig without the pricy upgrade.

Nvidia RTX 3000 series graphics cards are not free from drawbacks either. At only 10 GB of ram on the RTX 3080 and 8 GB for the RTX 3070, neither have as much ram as the older Nvidia RTX 2080 Ti models, Xbox Series X/S, or PlayStation 5. If a game was designed to push graphics across all platforms the 10 GB or 8 GB might not be enough. The beefer RTX 3090 has 20 GB, but costs almost double the RTX 3080 and the AMD RX 6800. Currently, ray tracing is available on the older Nvidia RTX 2060 or higher cards, which are both more affordable and in stock. This is good news for those afraid of losing out on the ray tracing bandwagon.

There are also additional costs to consider when purchasing the jacked $1100+ PlayStation 5, Xbox Series S, Nvidia RTX 3070, or AMD RX 6800. Buying price gouged consoles or graphics cards ensures even more scalper bots at the next big release. Additionally, all the companies plan on restocking current supplies, but that will take some time. Once they replenish, the scalpers will lose out because they bank on scarcity of supply and high demand. If one gives in and buys a scalped item, it may not have the full protection of the original warranty. If the product fails, it will be hard to return since it was not bought directly from a retail website. Furthermore, the warranty on the product may not transfer at all if not sold properly. Look at Tesla’s Vehicle Warranty for one such product that must be resold in a specific way.

(Image credit: Microsoft)

With only a minimal loss in games available, there are other reasons for holding off upgrading to the latest equipment. It may take newer 8k TVs to benefit from them fully, and those models should get cheaper next year. As 8k TVs start falling in price, Sony and Microsoft will release better versions of the new consoles, even if they just have bigger SSDs. Later models could follow the same path as the Xbox One X and PlayStation 4 Pro which support better 4k graphics output and higher frame rates. Some of the limited-edition console models looked way better too, like the one-of-a-kind Agent 47 PlayStation 4 console. The PlayStation 5 already has removable skin plates and that will likely lead to a wide variety of special editions down the road.

While the graphics cards may not have many limited editions, companies will release models with additional features. Expect more onboard ram and higher overclock speeds in second generation GPUs. The current production models will also likely see improvements in reliability and cooling as the factories increase efficiency. In fact, Nvidia has several other 3000 editions that have leaked which promise greater ram options for the RTX 3070 and 3080. There is even an RTX 3060 model to expand the list soon, and a leak from Amazon UK’s RTX 3060 Ti page confirms it. Waiting could pay off with better technology than most originally intended to buy.

If you were one of the lucky few who snagged any of the latest equipment for retail price, congratulations on beating the bots. However, if you shared my fate by watching every website freeze up and go to sold out, just wait because it is not worth it. Right now, only Astro’s Playroom and Demon’s Souls are out of reach for the average gamer. If one owns a PlayStation 4, an Xbox One, or a PC, there is not much gameplay missed yet. Also, more products will be on the digital shelves next year, including better models and limited editions. I will be waiting for at least a 2 TB storage unit on either a Series X or PS5 before attempting to buy a new console again.