If Microsoft really expected the gaming community to stay calm about the console prices steadily moving up, they were fooling themselves. And lo and behold, another price increase is on the way; this time around, it is slated for October 3 in the U.S. The kind of reaction coming straight out of the gamer community can only be described as utter displeasure.
Xbox decided to lay down the facts minus any sugar-coated treatment. The pricing formula for the Xbox Series X and Series S has gone up. Just like that. No warning, or “hey, sorry for this…” type of reaction to the price hike? The comment section was an entire mood.
“It’s the biggest scam in gaming,” stated one gamer while some gamers echoed some harsh truths. Consoles get cheaper with time, not more expensive; that’s always been the way it operates. But Microsoft here is going against the grain.
Especially good were some comments who had bought the Series S 512GB for two hundred bucks on Black Friday 2021 and even got a $50 gift card for it. And now, suddenly, it’s four hundred bucks for one and the same! That’s literally double the price. How does that work out in any universe?!
There were many arguments in the replies for what might be the reason behind this move. Some thought tariffs might be a part of it. Other players, though, seem to be recalling how cheap PC parts are nowadays compared to the times during COVID with a supposedly messed-up supply chain. So like… what’s really going on here?
The usual comeback that seems to sprout up: “Just build a PC.” Honestly, looking at all these numbers, it’s getting harder to argue against that. One player stated that just a few months back, he bought himself a gaming laptop with specs better than those of the Series X at $600. So, new 2TB Series X is going to be $650? This math just ain’t math.
These things are wild in their impacts; strange how this cuts very differently for different players. Some were going to upgrade to the 2TB Series X; now they’re like, “Nope, I think I’m going to stick with my Series S for now and maybe buy an expansion card.” Others are listing their Xbox consoles for sale outright; they don’t even really use them anymore. The message is pretty clear: this price hike does not bring in any new players into the Xbox ecosystem.
There’s that supply and demand affair. The price of Xbox consoles raised with pretty well no demand exists for Xbox consoles right now seems counterproductive?! If nobody is purchasing them at the current price, why’d they buy them at a higher price? Easy, simple economics, but apparently, Microsoft missed the day they taught this in business school.
With that kind of timing, there had to be a few raised eyebrows. Models and series have excellent sales numbers during that time of year, and so instead of doing some holiday discounts and bundles, they just went ahead and raised the prices. This must be some bold strategy and true courage; let’s see if it wins for them (spoiler: probably not).
Some of the reactions are downright hilarious. “‘Hoist your colours high 🏴☠️’,” one player commented, which must mean, something maybe about going back to the high seas. Another just said “$650 for an Xbox console,” followed by more crying and laughing emojis. The vibe is totally, “Are you serious right now?”
This is interesting when tied into how the gaming market as a whole is doing. Consoles were always sold at a loss sooner or later, where a company made its money back on the software or services. That may not be happening anymore with Game Pass and co.? Or maybe Microsoft is testing the waters on how much players will pay before they jump to PC or PlayStation.
This entire thing made players question everything. Like, “You’re supposed to be the Cheap Ass Gamer. Where are the Cheap Ass Consoles?” well, fair enough. When the “budget” system is $400, you’ve got problems in the gaming world.
As the 3rd of October draws near, it’ll be interesting to watch how this plays out. Will players actually pay these new prices, or will Xbox consoles just go on gathering dust on store shelves? Going by the reactions for now, I’d have to go with the second. That is if Microsoft doesn’t know something the rest of us don’t, that is. Or maybe this company has done a spectacular job at completely ignoring what gamers actually want and can afford these days.
Either way, it’s got a lot of players thinking twice about their gaming setups. And with how cheap PC parts are getting, and PlayStation holding the price line… let’s just say Microsoft might want to mull this whole price hike again, lest they price themselves right out of the market.
