Size of Xbox price increase in Europe shocks, giving Sony's PS5 consoles an edge
Buyers knew that another Xbox price increase on consoles was taking effect on August 1st. Still, Microsoft didn’t inform European or Japanese consumers about how high MSRPs would rise. Gamers are experiencing sticker shock as Sony’s PS5 hardware is significantly more affordable.
Budget-busting increases
With certain Xbox Series X and S models, the jump is greater in Euros than in USD. The Series S 512 GB is now up from €349.99 to €499.99, while the 1 TB variation suffered a €200 hike to €599.99. Both Series X SKUs are €200 higher, bringing the digital 1 TB to €749.99 and the disc option to €799.99.
The story isn’t much better in the UK, where they rose anywhere from £130 to £170. Even so, Japan was the most impacted, facing an Xbox price increase of a flat ¥30,000.
Microsoft had already detailed the extent of the damage for U.S. gamers on June 25th. The Series S and Series X saw their prices climb by $100-150. As a result, the most expensive target with a disc drive is $799.99 rather than $649.99.
The manufacturer blamed the AI-fueled storage and memory shortage for the adjustments. With support from Xbox CEO Asha Sharma, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella hopes to reverse declining profits. Even after the latest revisions, the company will reportedly still lose around $150 on each unit sold. It’s unlikely that it would be willing to absorb even greater losses.
Bad news for Project Helix?
Critics claim that making the systems less accessible contradicts Sharma prioritizing hardware. It also introduces concerns about the budget required to purchase the upcoming Project Helix. That said, Sharma has pledged to use innovation to keep costs down. Any creative strategies apparently only apply to the new Xbox console.
In reality, Microsoft’s gaming systems were already selling poorly in several regions before the price increase. They have also been hard to find in stock at some physical storefronts. Nevertheless, it will be difficult to convince buyers lacking capable PCs to accommodate newfound exclusives like Gears of War: E-Day.
Sony could hold an advantage for the foreseeable future, after securing enough memory to last at least through March 2027. The digital and disc versions of the PS5 console are $150 cheaper than comparable rivals.
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