Microsoft has increased the prices of the Xbox consoles in the U.S. Wait a minute, didn't this happen a few months ago?
Well, that's exactly what I thought when I was scrolling my feed, and I almost missed the word "again" at the end of the title in The Verge's article. Yup, they really did it, the mad lads at Redmond have actually increased the price twice in a span of 5 months.
These were the Xbox prices before the recent price hike, with the original launch price in parentheses
- Xbox Series S 512GB - $379.99 (up from $299.99)
- Xbox Series S 1TB - $429.99 (up from $349.99)
- Xbox Series X Digital - $549.99 (up from $449.99)
- Xbox Series X - $599.99 (up from $499.99)
- Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy Special Edition $729.99 (up from $599.99)
The new prices of the Xbox consoles are as follows.
- Xbox Series S 512GB - $399.99 (up by $20 from $379.99)
- Xbox Series S 1TB - $449.99 (up by $20 from $429.99)
- Xbox Series X Digital - $599.99 (up by $50 from $549.99)
- Xbox Series X - $649.99 (up by $50 from $599.99)
- Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy Special Edition - $799.99 (up by $70 from $729.99)
These prices come into effect from October 3rd.
Microsoft says it "will update the recommended retailer pricing for Series S and Series X consoles in the United States due to changes in the macroeconomic environment." Oh, come on. Say the line, Bart! The price of controllers and headsets remain unaffected, and the Xbox prices remain the same in other markets.
I'm still struggling to believe it. This can't be real, a 5-year-old console getting a price hike is bad enough. But it happened two times in just a few months. What is going on? The Xbox really didn't have a huge market before the prices went up, who in their right mind is going to buy these consoles now?
Just for reference, here are the Sony PS5 prices in the U.S. after the price hike in August.
- PlayStation 5 – $549.99
- PlayStation 5 Digital Edition – $499.99
- PlayStation 5 Pro – $749.99
If you want to get an Xbox, I think it's probably better to get a refurbished one, or a used-console. It's not worth it at full price, and definitely not after 2 price hikes. Don't buy it from strangers or online ads, there are too many risk factors involved, it may be wiser, maybe even cheaper to get it from a local store where you can check the condition of the device personally.
The ROG Xbox Ally is launching in October, I wonder if these price hikes are somehow related to the handhelds' release. Rumors suggest the devices would start at about $700. That's crazy money for a handheld, even the Nintendo Switch 2 costs just $449.
What do you think about the Xbox pricing strategy?
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