MICROSOFT has recently revealed that the price of Xbox Series X|S consoles will likely rise following the holiday period.
PlayStation recently raised the price of PlayStation 5 consoles in almost all regions outside of the US, due to global high inflation rates.
The price of both consoles will apparently rise.
Following PlayStation’s announcement, Xbox released a statement saying that there would be no price increase for its consoles.
It read: “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).”
The company has long prided itself as the affordable option for gamers.
Not only is the Xbox Series S one of the cheapest high-end consoles on the market, but Xbox Game Pass allows people to access a wide library of games cheaply.
Head of Xbox Gaming Phil Spencer also teased the release of an even cheaper streaming-only console.
Speaking on Wednesday at the WSJ Tech conference, Spencer conceded that the price of Xbox consoles may rise in 2023.
He said: “Going into this holiday, we thought it was really important that we maintain the prices that we have.
“Consumers right now are more uncertain than they have been in a long time, and I want our medium of video games to be something that they find attractive.”
Despite these reassurances that console prices won’t rise before the busy holiday season, he couldn’t be certain about the future.
“We have to look at the return on our business, the cost of the business.
“We’ve held [the] price on our console, we’ve held [the] price on games for us and our subscription.
“I don’t think we’ll be able to do that forever.”
This comment not only threw into doubt whether the price of the Xbox Series consoles will rise, but also Xbox games, and Xbox Game Pass prices.
As prices rise globally, gaming is becoming an even more difficult hobby for people to enjoy.
Written by Georgina Young on behalf of GLHF.
