With the recent price drops of the Logitech G29 and G920 steering wheel and pedals from £300 to £160, does this mean that Logitech is gearing up ready for the next era of consoles?
Currently, Logitech’s G29/G920 is their flagship wheel for the low-end customers, but, with the price dropping in half and the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X on the horizon, it could be a telltale sign that Logitech is winding up production for a new wheel and an announcement shortly.
Logitech is the king of the low-end customer market and has cornered it with their ranges available, but, would they mean to keep this wheel to fill the gap for a new range that could compete with Fanatec and Thrustmaster? If that’s the case, then they will also need to incorporate a new belt-driven system instead of the gear-driven motor that’s currently in use.
The cost of direct drive wheels is coming down year on year with the Feel VR wheelbase, pedals, and two rims going for a measly $650 on Kickstarter in 2018; this could mean that even Thrustmaster and Fanatec will have to start dropping prices of their current belt-driven wheels which will make things more affordable for customers.
If Feel VR takes off, then it could show that Logitech could be gearing towards a high-end direct-drive wheel if the cost to manufacture isn’t too high. Considering that Feel VR have so much in a cheap package, this could force competition amongst the wheel manufacturers and Logitech may be at the forefront if they have their eyes sought after in the high-end market.
That’s not to say they should be lax as Thrustmaster and Fanatec will not sit idly. As the new consoles are released sometime this year (Coronavirus pending), these two giants will see what Logitech bring to the table and their price range before slotting in comparable products.
Sources: Kickstarter Feel VR - Amazon G29 - Amazon G920