Xbox boss won’t rule out Xbox Series X price hike in the future
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Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said Microsoft has no plans to increase the price of its flagship consoles for the foreseeable future, but has not ruled out a price hike down the line.
After Sony increased the price of the PS5 last month in response to rising production costs, consumers wondered if Microsoft will follow suit. Speak with CNBC (opens in new tab) in a recent interview, Spencer confirmed that while the tech giant currently has no plans to do so, that could change.
“We’re always evaluating our business in the future, so I don’t think we can ever say we’ll never do anything,” Spencer said.
“I can definitely say that today we have no plans to increase the price of our consoles. At a time when customers are more economically challenged and insecure than ever, we don’t think it’s the right move for us right now to raise prices for our consoles.”
A big mistake
Spencer said the Xbox business model was underpinned by value for money, highlighting the success it has seen with the digital Xbox Series S. An affordable alternative to the Xbox Series X, its budget hardware now accounts for more than half. of Xbox sales.
Microsoft will likely want to keep that advantage and hope it won’t be disrupted by the global chip shortage Sony has used to excuse the PS5’s price hike. So far, the Xbox Series S has been more resilient to production shortages than the other current-generation consoles, as the weaker chipset makes the components easier to source and manufacture.
Combined with the value of Xbox Game Pass – which only increases with a subscription at a bargain price – the Xbox Series S is one of the most affordable hardware options on the gaming market today. A price hike would be a major misstep for Microsoft, and significantly undermine the console’s primary selling point.
That’s especially true if Nintendo is keeping up the price of the Nintendo Switch, as President Shuntaro Furukawa told Nikkei (opens in new tab) would do it last month. Sony is the odd one out for now. Microsoft wants to use it as long as possible.