Last August, Sony announced an increase in the price of its PS5 in France, as well as in several countries around the world. Today we learn that Microsoft is also increasing the retail price of the Xbox Series X|S, but only in Japan for now.
Microsoft also increases the price of its consoles
Phil Spencer announced in October that a price increase seemed inevitable for Xbox after the Christmas holidays. While we learned recently that Redfall would be the first Xbox game sold for € 79.99, we now discover via
Famitsu that the Xbox Series X|S is experiencing a localized price hike.
Until now, the Xbox Series X was sold for 54,978 yen in Japan. On February 17, it will be sold for 59,978 yen, an increase of 5,000 yen, around €35 with us. For its part, the Xbox Series S sees its price drop from 32,978 yen to 37,978 yen.
Below is Microsoft’s statement regarding the price hike of its consoles:
After carefully evaluating the market situation in Japan, we have decided to change the Xbox console reference price in Japan. This price revision also affects our customers, and it was a tough decision, but we will continue to deliver the best Xbox experience that our customers are used to.
Soon a price increase also in France?
Seeing the price of the Xbox Series X | S increase in Japan, one obviously wonders when Microsoft will do the same in Europe, and in particular in France.
It is difficult to know with certainty whether a general increase in prices is to be expected by the firm, which still has everything to prove in 2023, and which announced a few days ago a 13% drop in sales of its consoles on the second quarter of its fiscal year 2023.
As a reminder, when Sony increased the selling price of the PS5, the American territory had been ruled out; it is therefore difficult to imagine Microsoft increasing the price of its consoles on its land and selling its machines at a higher price than Sony.
It goes without saying that we should learn more about this in the coming months, and that the year 2023 will hold many surprises.
