Microsoft has no plans to raise the Xbox Series X|S price
Microsoft has no plans to raise the Xbox Series X|S price
Microsoft has said the suggest retail price of its consoles remain the same and it won't follow Sony's PS5 price increase
➡️ The Shortcut Skinny: Xbox Series X|S price
⛔ Microsoft has ruled out an Xbox Series X|S price increase
🙏 It means the Xbox Series X|S will remain $499 / $299 for the foreseeable
😬 Sony announced it was raising the price of the PS5 in almost every market, apart from the US
😱 Countries like Japan will have to pay 21% more for a PlayStation 5, while people in the EU have to pay 10% more for Sony’s console
Microsoft will not increase the price of the Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S, at least for now. The company was asked whether it would follow Sony’s recent announcement that the PS5 price is increasing in almost all markets except for the US.
In a statement to Windows Central, a Microsoft spokesperson said there are currently no plans to raise the price of either console and reiterated that both the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S would remain at their current RRPs across each market.
“We are constantly evaluating our business to offer our fans great gaming options. Our Xbox Series S suggested retail price remains at $299 (£250, €300) the Xbox Series X is $499 (£450, €500).”
Sony has blamed the PS5 price increase on a “challenging economic environment” as inflation and adverse currency trends continue to impact consumers and businesses across the globe. Furthermore, manufacturing and shipping costs have increased, squeezing Sony’s bottom line.
The Japanese company isn’t the first company to raise the price of its products. Meta announced that the Quest 2 would get a $100 price hike in August, and Nintendo has admitted that it won’t raise the price of the Nintendo Switch “at this point.”
However, it’s refreshing to hear that Microsoft isn’t raising the Xbox Series X|S price, at least not yet. It also helps that Microsoft has a cheaper console in the Xbox Series S available, which is only $299 and can often be found for less.
Sony has two more pieces of hardware on the way, the PSVR 2 and PS5 DualSense Edge Controller. Neither of these products has a price tag yet, though I’ve speculated the PS5 DualSense Edge Controller price could be between $179 and $249.
The PS5 price increase means Microsoft now has a price advantage in the battle between PS5 vs Xbox Series X in almost every region except the US. Whether or not that will be enough to sway consumers to pick Microsoft’s flagship console over Sony’s remains to be seen, but it’s unprecedented to see a console (which is usually sold at a loss) get a price increase during a generation.