VentureBeat has torn open a Seagate expansion card for the Xbox Series X to see if it's worth the exorbitant price tag. The 1 terabyte expansion card sells for a whopping $220, as revealed by an internet leak some time before the expansion went on market. That's almost half the cost of a whole console, and fans are understandably wary of paying such a premium.
The question of value is an incredibly important one at the start of a new console generation. Fans want to make sure they're getting the best possible gaming experience for the money they put in, and with the powerful new tech on offer, that can make for a hefty investment. On top of that, it's recently been confirmed that many developers will be increasing the price of their games from $60 to $70, making video gaming an even more expensive hobby. With so many demands placed on the wallet of the average gamer, it's more important than ever that one does one's research before making a major purchase.
To that end, VentureBeat is doing its homework to make sure fans understand exactly what they might be paying hundreds of dollars for. It took the Seagate expansion card packed in with the preview Series X and carefully disassembled it to see if the components under the hood were worth the hefty price tag. The card consists of a plastic sheathe around a metal case, which VentureBeat notes is important for cooling purposes. Under the hood, the expansion card boasts a SK Hynix NAND Flash memory chip and a Phison PCIe 4.0 controller. These components are both high end; VentureBeat calls the Phison controller in particular "an early industry leader in reliable and speedy performance." After prodding around inside the memory card, VentureBeat was able to say with certainty that there is in fact $220 worth of technology in the Seagate expansion card.
But that's still a lot of money to ask of a gamer. Fortunately, VentureBeat was also optimistic that the price will go down before too long. One of the design advantages of the memory chip is that it's easier and cheaper to manufacture than other models, which VentureBeat believes will lower costs very soon. VentureBeat also believes Xbox will lower the cost soon because of Game Pass; Microsoft has a vested interest in getting more subscribers and letting them download games whenever they want, so it stands to reason that Microsoft would also have a vested interest in making sure fans have the storage space to download those games. This reasoning seems a little dubious; after all, Microsoft also wants to make as much money as possible. But time will tell.
Storage space is an absolutely vital aspect of the video game experience. No one likes having to uninstall their favorite games to make new ones, only to sit through the lengthy process of downloading them again later on. The Xbox Series X does already boast significantly more storage space than its competitor the PlayStation 5, so hopefully some gamers won't have to contend with the high price of storage expansion. For everyone else, hopefully VentureBeat is right, and extra Xbox Series X storage space will be more affordable before too long.
Source: VentureBeat