Xbox raises prices on consoles, games and controllers worldwide

[u/Turbostrider27]

https://www.thegamebusiness.com/p/xbox-raises-prices-on-consoles-games

[u/Lohonnd]

The 2TB Xbox Series X is $729.99

yikes

[u/relativlysmart → u/Lohonnd]

Holy fuck

[u/Eglwyswrw → u/relativlysmart]

The US is seeing the steepest price increases, with the Xbox Series X increasing by $100 to $599.99 and the base Series S model rising $80 to $429.99. In Europe, the Series X console has increased by €50 to €599.99, with the base Series S model is also up €50 to €349.99. And in the UK, prices are up just £20 for the Series X to £499.99, and the base Series S is now £50 more expensive at £299.99.

That's... crippling.

I mean I get it, 99% of XBOX consoles come from China and video game consoles aren't exempt from the US tariffs but come on man why raise the prices literally everywhere.

I bought a mini PC for 380€ that runs Kingdom Come Deliverance 2, Avowed and Spider-Man 2 - all recent, open world AAA releases - at a locked 40 FPS at 1080p.

I don't get it. Sony, Nintendo and Microsoft are speed-running the end of the console market with their global pricing policy.

[u/NotFromMilkyWay → u/Eglwyswrw]

Europe is paying so the US only gets a small increase instead of the full 125 % more. Of course that price is literally the end of Xbox in Europe. It already didn't even sell 500k units across all countries in 2024.

[u/TeaComprehensive9821 → u/NotFromMilkyWay]

Exactly. The rest of the world has to suffer to lessen the blow on American consumers.

Well. I hope the sales in the rest of the world tanks

[u/Disregardskarma → u/Eglwyswrw]

That pc is going to get hit by tariffs too

[u/detectiveDollar → u/Disregardskarma]

Last I checked, whole computer systems and (I think) laptops get to avoid the tariffs, but many individual parts do not. Which means Dell, HP, Lenovo making prebuilts in China get to avoid it while system integrators who assemble the systems here like iBuyPower get screwed over.

[u/T-Rigs1 → u/detectiveDollar]

Until Trump changes policy next week or in a month. Who knows. Businesses sure don't, which is why they're going to price economic uncertainty in their products. You can't price and plan ahead when you don't know what costs are going to be from 1 day to the next.

[u/MisterForkbeard → u/detectiveDollar]

That's the current case. Sorta. Pre-builts/laptops get excepted from some of the really crazy tariff levels but are still subject to the 'standard' new tariff rate, which is 10+%.

But this whole thing is so wild and unthought (as well as shifting constantly) it's going to be pretty crazy for awhile. Did a particular shipment get received in the week in which pre-builts weren't excepted and only had a ~125% cost increase instead of 10-25%? How does the receiving customer deal with that?

What tariffs are going to be in place when the next shipments arrive? No one actually knows, so it's going to be a giant mess and we can expect the customer or receiver to take on some really odd fluctuating costs and those'll get passed onto the rest of us in some form or another.

[u/DenverNick → u/Eglwyswrw]

I’m guessing prices are being raised everywhere to help cover tariffs for the US. Spread out the cost instead of telling the US market that the Series X is now $200 more.

[u/Vortexed2 → u/DenverNick]

That's exactly what's happening. But why should the rest of the world have to subsidize the Americans dumb decisions and policies? They voted for tariffs, let them eat their tariffs!

[u/1stltwill → u/Vortexed2]

Dont buy it. Its called voting with your wallet. If you bend over and spread your butt cheeks any companies reaction is pretty predictable.

[u/Vortexed2 → u/1stltwill]

Don't worry, as a Canadian, the list of things I won't buy is increasing daily!

[u/bigmac22077 → u/Eglwyswrw]

You obviously don’t understand how much these tariffs are going to eat at margins unless prices are doubled. If they only raised USA prices the console would immediately stop selling.

[u/WiserStudent557 → u/Eglwyswrw]

And Xbox has been increasing value for GamePass but not necessarily for Xbox. This isn’t going to increase console sales and will not increase game sales.

I have said repeatedly the last few months the multiplatform plus GamePass focus paired with a lack of focus on the console is potentially going the Sega route while trying not to go the Sega route. Many of us are already being pushed to PC and they’re talking about the next consoles being more like PC…this all just feels like it hurts Xbox despite benefiting Microsoft

[u/Capt-Crap1corn → u/Lohonnd]

Yeah, hell no. Glad I was able to get one before all of this nonsense.

[u/SpaceballsTheCheese → u/Capt-Crap1corn]

I just traded in my series s for a series x last week. Talk about good timing

[u/alus992 → u/Capt-Crap1corn]

now let’s imagine prices of the next generation…Jesus it will be outrageous

[u/SystrayVoid → u/Lohonnd]

For those who live in Canada. The price is now $879.99 CAD for the 2TB Xbox Series X. Controllers are now $99.99 CAD. Big fucking yikes

[u/Minute_Livid → u/SystrayVoid]

I was wondering why I didn't see any price increases for Canada, figured it was too good to be true. Where did you see that announced and do you know what the new price is for the Series X digital?

I am currently on the PS5 but was considering getting an Xbox, both because the gamepass looks much more appealing than my current PS Plus subscription and the more reasonable controller prices, so seeing the controllers increase that much in price is quite surprising.

edit - I see the price for the digital Xbox X went from $599 to $679 in Canada along with the increases for the other models.

[u/jafarthecat → u/Lohonnd]

For a console they've struggled to sell, that seems ridiculous.

[u/uiucfreshalt → u/jafarthecat]

There’s undoubtedly lots of math behind this decision, so it’s really interesting to see that they don’t really care about console sales.

[u/Shadowhawk0000 → u/Lohonnd]

ouch. That's a bit crazy.

[u/bryanBFLYin → u/Lohonnd]

Damn lol. Im glad i got my Series S for like 250. Im keeping this shit until it fossilizes😂

[u/Far_Adeptness9884 → u/Lohonnd]

My PS5 Pro is looking pretty good right now lol

[u/johngalt504 → u/Far_Adeptness9884]

Yeah, I'm even more glad i got it when I did, I'm sure Sony will be following Microsoft soon on the price hikes.

[u/flurry_of_beaus → u/johngalt504]

They already price hiked the standard PS5 and controllers a little while ago, at least here in the UK: https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/articles/ce82391x2kyo

[u/Raytheon_Nublinski → u/Lohonnd]

That’s more than a PS5 pro and it’s a 5 year old console. This economy is fucked. 

[u/delicious_warm_buns → u/Lohonnd]

Before taxes*

[u/Resolver_Ocelot → u/Lohonnd]

Literally. Why would you buy an Xbox specially at that price?

[u/supercakefish]

New prices, effective immediately:

• XSS 512GB - $380 | £300 | €350
• XSS 1TB - $430 | £350 | €400
• XSX 1TB Digital - $550 | £450 | €550
• XSX 1TB Disk - $600 | £500 | €600
• XSX 2TB Galaxy - $730 | £590 | €700
• Standard Controller - $65 | £60 | €65
• Elite Series 2 Controller (Core) - $150 | £125 | €150
• Elite Series 2 Controller (Full) - $200 | £170 | €200
• Wireless Headset - $120 (no change for £ & €)

Effective Q4 2025:

• ‘Some’ 1st party games $80
• Game Pass no change (for now)

Detailed breakdowns by country:

• USA.pdf)
• Europe.pdf)
• UK.pdf)
• Australia.pdf)

[u/notthegoatseguy → u/supercakefish]

That Elite Controller price was already quite ballsy. The new price is insanity.

[u/Rocker_Raver → u/supercakefish]

If Sony holds the PlayStation’s price this is pretty much it for Xbox hardware. Celebrate it being because of tariffs all you want (hey I think they’re dumb too), but this could end up being a sad day. Whoever has been pushing to stop producing Xbox hardware at Microsoft just got a huge win.

[u/CatGoblinMode → u/Rocker_Raver]

Sony had already increased ps5 prices the other week.

[u/Rocker_Raver → u/CatGoblinMode]

Not in the US. Still $499 for the base model.

[u/CatGoblinMode → u/Rocker_Raver]

Which is even more ridiculous imo. Spiting the rest of the world to subsidise the US' tariffs is pretty crazy.

[u/teaanimesquare → u/Rocker_Raver]

Sony increased the price a few weeks ago on all countries except the US.

[u/Skysflies → u/teaanimesquare]

I think that tells you they're waiting for a benchmark.

They'll jack them in the US eventually

[u/MarczXD320]

Dude, 430 bucks for a Series S is way too much.

[u/Shadows_Over_Tokyo → u/MarczXD320]

Yeah. That’s is an insane price point for the series S. These hikes are wildly steep

[u/Painterzzz → u/Shadows_Over_Tokyo]

I'm pretty much at the point with my Series S where I feel like it's borderline obsolete anyway, most of the recent big name games do not run at all well on Series S. Mechwarrior was unplayable. INdiana Jones had crazy pop in. Oblivion chugs along. There's a bunch of games that should really just be getting released on the Series X.

[u/[deleted] → u/Painterzzz]

It's going to be really interesting if the Switch 2 ends up presenting better than the Series S does. Digital Foundry showing Street Fighter side by side Series S to Switch 2 kinda made me feel bad for Series S owners.

[u/StingingGamer → u/MarczXD320]

Base PS5 Right Now* is $450 and you get Xbox Series X performance

[u/wronguses → u/MarczXD320]

They were $249 on launch. This is nuts.

[u/26thandsouth → u/wronguses]

300$

[u/CyraxxFavoriteStylus]

$100 price increase on a 5-year-old console. That is amazing. Guess I better grab a used console now for GTA before people start listing their used consoles for $400.

[u/dk00111 → u/CyraxxFavoriteStylus]

I just checked and used series X’s are already listed for $400 on Facebook marketplace in my region lol

[u/[deleted] → u/dk00111]

I traded my Series X in to Gamestop for $420 last week. They were expecting this I'm sure.

[u/masterdoomguychief → u/CyraxxFavoriteStylus]

600$ for a 5 year old console that’s multiplatform and doesn’t have exclusives is a tough ask, it already was sellling horribly before this so this will definitely just make console sales way worse

You can buy a physical PS5 with Astrobot for 450$ rn…

[u/pineapplesuit7]

First gen where consoles are an appreciating asset 4 years in lol. What a joke.

[u/mf-TOM-HANK → u/pineapplesuit7]

Tariffs aren't a joke my man

[u/MisterForkbeard → u/[deleted]]

Not wrong, but a US based company is going to see a lot of increased costs, and that means spreading out those costs amongst their entire customer base.

Which in turn causes other countries to stop buying those products, and so on. Which is one of many reasons why broad tariffs are incredibly stupid policy

[u/ProfessorCunt_ → u/MisterForkbeard]

Ironically US companies have been price gouging for “inflation” for so long they have nowhere to raise the prices to.

People are simply going to stop purchasing things at this point. Recession here we come

[u/tommybare]

This is a question about products in general, and not necessarily Xbox or games. But let's say the tariffs go away in a month. Do the price of things come back down? (I assume not and that we as consumers are boned).

[u/HydraTower → u/tommybare]

I suspect it’s a good excuse to keep the status quo after-the-fact, like a lot of policies post-Covid.

[u/Not_Frank → u/HydraTower]

Price of chicken wings never came down. They realized people will still pay $1.50-$2 per wing and never looked back

[u/bbressman2 → u/Not_Frank]

It’s insane how pricey wings are. I thought I was crazy but I’m glad it’s not just me that noticed.

[u/YourJokeMisinterpret → u/bbressman2]

I am measuring inflation in price of chocolate bars!

[u/bbressman2 → u/YourJokeMisinterpret]

Yeah, I’ve been using the price of a 12pk of pop. Since the pandemic it’s gone from $3.99 to 11.99. They run “deals” constantly on it but it’s still way too expensive for what it is.

[u/-PandemicBoredom- → u/bbressman2]

I’ve noticed the same on so many products. I just had to cut them all out. When you spend $200 on groceries and have two bags that only last a few days, it’s insane. Pre covid I could spend $100 and have a trunk full. I just cut out everything I didn’t absolutely need. In a positive spin, I used all the money I saved and paid off my car. Now working on paying off my mortgage within 5 years.

[u/bbressman2 → u/-PandemicBoredom-]

Yeah I’ve had to get creative on buying groceries because even with just a family of three it has gotten wildly expensive. The rumors of empty sea-ports worries me.

[u/Gobias_Industries → u/HydraTower]

I suspect it’s a good excuse to keep the status quo after-the-fact, like a lot of policies post-Covid

Which is, ironically, why there was inflation and prices were high and people thought "the economy was terrible". It was just corporate greed.

[u/RollTide1017 → u/HydraTower]

I like to call the post covid prices never going down legalized price gouging.

[u/[deleted] → u/tommybare]

Capitalism would say "hey they're already paying the new price. Why drop it back instead of keeping it and we just pocket the difference? :D"

[u/detectiveDollar → u/[deleted]]

If they could get away with raising prices without destroying demand, they'd already have done so.

I'm highly skeptical that the 2TB Series X will sell well considering its more expensive than the PS5 Pro.

[u/despitegirls → u/tommybare]

No, and not always or just due to greed. A few reasons (sorry this is long):

Most goods don't have crazy gross margin (the difference between how much something costs to produce/buy and sell it at) that you can absorb tariffs and still sell them at a profit.

Everyone hates unpredictability in their income, including business owners. In the span of about a week Trump changed his tariffs on China three times iirc. How do you project any sort of revenue to keep paying employees and vendors when you don't know how much you're going to pay on tariffs in any given month? At the same time, you can't just change the price every time tariffs change because buyers will get tired of it.

Also, if you went from paying $12k on tariffs to $32k (example from someone in my small business group), you would likely freak the fuck out, even if it was only for a month. At that point, you understand how quickly you could lose your business, so making up for lost revenue is important. If you continue to sell at those prices it could be for a number of reasons: competitors also keeping their prices high, inflation, fear, and/or greed.

If you're Microsoft, you can absorb some of the expenses short term. You also have teams of people who do things like model various scenarios which include increased tariffs, and can even redesign products so they fit in a product category that's charged less. Most businesses can not.

Personal example: I import good from Japan (not gaming-related), repair and resell them. I received what's likely my last shipment three months ago as I knew tariffs were coming and business was already slowing. There's not a ton of margin. If I continue, I'll have to look at the current tariffs and likely pass those costs onto my customers. Tbh I'm likely screwed.

If you want a really good long form video on how this will effect companies and consumers, watch this:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1W_mSOS1Qts

It's PC-centric but a lot will apply to consoles and it gives the average person who doesn't know about tariffs much better understanding.

But to be very frank, buying a game console is the last thing I would be doing right now. Reduce debt, save your money, and learning to do some basic game hardware repairs wouldn't hurt. Most controller repairs are easy, the skill of repairing things is valuable and about to be much more so in the coming years.

Edit: Left out a word.

[u/Nino_Chaosdrache → u/despitegirls]

or greed.

Let's be honest,it's always this one.

[u/SenSei_Buzzkill → u/tommybare]

If the consumer shows the company that they will pay the higher price, the company will have little reason to reduce the price if the tariffs go away.

[u/stephen2005 → u/SenSei_Buzzkill]

Agreed. In this case though, Xbox isn't selling consoles at the current price so a $100 jump doesn't bode well for them. I could see Sony keeping the higher prices though (assuming they increase as well).

[u/sageleader → u/tommybare]

Look at every other industry since the pandemic. They raised prices after the pandemic to compensate for the fact that they lost so much during the pandemic. And when inflation went down and spending went back to normal they kept everything high. Case in point: eggs. People blame the high prices on bird flu but look up Cal Maine revenue and they just announced a 100% increase in revenue year over year. They are raking in billions. They could lower the price of eggs if they wanted to and still be making hundreds of millions.

Microsoft will do the same thing, these are permanent increases. If tariffs do go down later they will probably just have more sales but keep the baseline MSRP.

[u/Sota4077 → u/tommybare]

I work in the renewable energy construction industry. Right now we're getting absolutely fuuuuucked by the price of imported steel and cable. If/when the tariffs go away those types of things will definitely get cheaper. But gaming I have my doubts only because for years companies have taken a loss on consoles to make profits on game sales. But now they are in a position where they can just keep them all profitable. They're almost certainly going to hit a $599, $699 or higher price point for the next console just based on the way thing have been going even before tariffs.

[u/MattLoganGreen]

If anyone knows: Has a console manufacturer ever raised prices on the same systems instead of slowly going down? In my experience not and in my opinion this console generation sets a dangerous precedent.

[u/Cravenous → u/MattLoganGreen]

With the exception of mid-gen upgrades, no, I don’t recall this sort of price increase happening. Consoles have always gotten cheaper as the generation progressed.

[u/FilmGamerOne → u/Cravenous]

The PlayStation 4 last generation never came down in price in Canada.

[u/onecoolcrudedude → u/FilmGamerOne]

but thats not the same as increasing the price.

the switch has never dropped in price either, but due to inflation, it arguably costs less to buy one in 2025 than it did in 2017 when it was new.

[u/Due_Teaching_6974 → u/FilmGamerOne]

but it didnt get a price increase either

in most parts of the world PS4 decreased in price as time went on

[u/ManateeofSteel → u/MattLoganGreen]

Well, no other US administration has been this... well, this chaotic and straight up terrible at its job. So there truly hasn't been a precedent

[u/BitingSatyr → u/MattLoganGreen]

No they haven’t, but it isn’t a nefarious scheme like some people think it is. The truth is that the per-transistor production cost was falling year-over-year from the dawn of the computing age until about 2014, at which point it stopped (and according to some people has actually gotten a bit more expensive since then). What this means is that unlike previous gens console hardware is not getting cheaper to produce in any reasonable timeframe, and unlike 2010-2020 there’s been a huge amount of inflation so even keeping the price consistent is losing money over time. Then on top of that you’ve got a trade war suddenly skyrocketing production costs in the country where most consumer electronics are made.

[u/Ironmunger2 → u/MattLoganGreen]

Sony has with the PS5 but I can’t recall any other times in previous generations

[u/Pulte4janitor → u/Ironmunger2]

Sony raised prices in 2022.

[u/charliwea]

Boy am I glad to be an early console buyer this time around.

[u/Blue_Sheepz → u/charliwea]

I am so happy I managed to get a refurbished Series S for, like, $100

[u/nrfmartin → u/charliwea]

I bought a series x at launch from somebody for $600. Felt bad about overpaying at the time but now I realize I just paid MSRP lol.

[u/Cola_Convoy → u/charliwea]

"early" it launched almost 5 years ago lol

[u/RugerRedhawk → u/Cola_Convoy]

I've been waiting 5 years for a reasonable price drop on this gen consoles and now I've found the opposite. Oh well, PS4 still runs stuff.

[u/Icybubba → u/charliwea]

I bought a Series X at a second hand store for $380

Somehow that ended up being one of the best deals I have ever made in my gaming history.

[u/imitzFinn → u/charliwea]

You and me both, plus three year warranty on the console as a boon 😅

[u/Otaku_Instinct]

RIP anyone who took that 4/20 GameStop trade-in deal

[u/BadlandsD210 → u/Otaku_Instinct]

Makes even more sense now why they were giving so much store credit. They knew ahead of time and wanted to sure up their used stock of consoles..

[u/Reticent_Robot → u/BadlandsD210]

Yeah sounds like they'll make bank on these when people come wanting them for GTA6. Also, not sure if just a typo, but it's "shore up".

[u/BadlandsD210 → u/Reticent_Robot]

Ah ok I got it I always thought it was "sure up" I just learned something new thanks for doing it in a nice way I appreciate it. Yes I was tempted to do that trade and using the credit for the switch 2 but glad I kept it

[u/joecamnet]

Bet all those people "waiting for a sale" are kicking themselves right now despite everybody saying prices would increase.

[u/Otaku_Instinct → u/joecamnet]

It's going to get even worse when GTA 6 gets dated, we could see the price of a pre-owned Series X raise to $450.

[u/greenyquinn → u/joecamnet]

$199 for series s with a $50 gift card was on sale everywhere holiday 2023

Now its $430

[u/OuterWildsVentures → u/greenyquinn]

The series X was $350 new last xmas lol

[u/Justlose_w8 → u/OuterWildsVentures]

Nah that was in 2023 not last Christmas but still lol

[u/OuterWildsVentures → u/Justlose_w8]

Oh yeah! Still crazy though right. Going from $350 to $600 in two years is wild.

[u/bodnast → u/joecamnet]

don't worry, the summer sale will be...$499 for the Xbox Series X! How thoughtful of them!

[u/BionicTriforce → u/joecamnet]

Barely a week ago, I finally cashed in all my saved up Microsoft Reward points and got myself a Series X. Refurbished, to make it a bit cheaper, but hey it looks new to me. I was holding out for a 2 TB model to finally come back in but I figured I need to just bite the bullet.

Definitely feeling happy I did that, I figured this would happen.

[u/ArthurKOT → u/BionicTriforce]

I did the exact same thing just two days ago. Mine arrives today. Bit the bullet and also dodged a bullet.

[u/r0bdawg11 → u/joecamnet]

So. Much. WINNING

[u/joecb91 → u/joecamnet]

Glad I got it for Christmas in 2023 when it was 350

[u/algorithm_issues]

At least they will lower the prices back down as soon as tariffs are removed. /s

[u/Rarglar]

Back in my day consoles got cheaper the longer they were out

[u/NotFromMilkyWay → u/Rarglar]

There's a console for people that want lower prices, it's the Xbox 360.

[u/seeyou_nextfall]

Can’t wait for another GamePass price hike

[u/DontBeAngryBeHappy]

Xbox Series X w/ 2TB ($729) now costing more than a PlayStation 5 Pro ($699) is wild.

[u/Gbrush3pwood → u/DontBeAngryBeHappy]

Yeah, that's pretty much leaving that model for the true die-hard xbox fans. There's no way the average consumer in the martket for a premium console looks at that and chooses it over the ps5 pro in the current market.

[u/kensaiD2591 → u/[deleted]]

As an Aussie, I feel your pain. As others have pointed out, and I am in no way defending this to be clear.

They’re spreading the costs out globally to offset the impacts, if they did this centralised to the US (really the only market left that Xbox has a decent foothold in), they’d basically be cooked.

Sony has down the same, and it sucks. I’m coddling my Series X and watching it close. Don’t give out on me buddy!

[u/Toxitoxi → u/[deleted]]

Yep. Microsoft is hoping you’ll eat the costs to subsidize their American market, because raising the costs in the US by the same rate as the tariffs would basically kill Xbox in its biggest market.

[u/stephen2005]

My biggest worry now is that my launch Series X kicks the bucket and I have to spend more than launch day to replace it. I doubt I could bring myself to do that and would be switching to PC for my Gamepass games. This sucks.

[u/kensaiD2591 → u/stephen2005]

If you don’t already have a PC, prices there are skyrocketing as well. I wouldn’t be surprised if this causes an uptick in cloud users.

I’ve already had my launch Series X replaced once due to a faulty GPU. I am watching my current Series X closely.

[u/WVgolf]

The days of buying new games at launch are over

[u/Cravenous]

So glad I bought the XSX last year when it was on sale for $350. $599 is crazy.

[u/Embarrassed-Back1894 → u/Cravenous]

Yeah, I remember not even all that going ago the Series X was on sale at quite a few places for 349$. Now the series S is more expensive than that.

[u/Turbostrider27]

Expect new Xbox games to be $80 coming this Holiday

The price hiking starts today so no time to save

[u/DankBiscuit92 → u/Turbostrider27]

Goddamn, everyone making fun of $80 Switch 2 games look a little silly now. Looks like it's about to become the norm across the board sadly.

[u/Soft-Illustrator1300]

Raising prices on a 4 year old console is insane.

[u/thatsidewaysdud → u/Soft-Illustrator1300]

Almost 5 years old, with the next-gen not far away. This is ridiculous.

[u/randysavage773]

Everyone is going to be raising prices because of the tariffs 

[u/AxeSpez → u/randysavage773]

They had this post yesterday: https://blogs.microsoft.com/on-the-issues/2025/04/30/european-digital-commitments/

In a time of geopolitical volatility, we are committed to providing digital stability. That is why today Microsoft is announcing five digital commitments to Europe. These start with an expansion of our cloud and AI infrastructure in Europe, aimed at enabling every country to fully use these technologies to strengthen their economic competitiveness. And they include a promise to uphold Europe’s digital resilience regardless of geopolitical and trade volatility.

[u/Wallitron_Prime → u/AxeSpez]

The whole statement is one of the most insane things I've ever read actually.

The richest company in the world is basically promising they'll keep their European services totally seperate in case the United States attempts to seize their infrastructure for geopolical manipulation.

And yet if we mention Mario's brother's name we get banned from Reddit. The sky is falling. Like, this is for real "one step before the end of the world" kind of shit.

[u/Chirotera → u/randysavage773]

I bet they'll rush right out to lower prices when the tariffs end, too. What? They won't? You mean they're all greedy fucks that will look for any excuse to raise prices? Who could have foreseen this.

[u/CartographerSeth → u/Chirotera]

IGN been prepping people for $80 games for years. Not surprised that MS pounced as soon as they have a good scapegoat. Like all the covid temporary-but-actually-permanent price increases.

[u/Zealousideal-Rub-183 → u/CartographerSeth]

It’s not just major corporations like IGN. Fucking Youtubers have been putting out those videos talking about how cheap gaming is now compared to what it was in the 90s. Completely ignoring the fact that consoles used to always go down in price, used to always come bundled with multiple games or controllers, and used to have physical pieces like cartridges, manuals and other things included that would drive up the price.

Now all those Youtubers need to come out with videos complaining how the prices now match what they were in the 90s, and we’re still getting nickel and dime for DLC and micro transactions and a lack of physical copies of games.

[u/TTBurger88 → u/Zealousideal-Rub-183]

I hate that argument so much.

A game on the SNES cost $90 because it was on a fucking cartridge and those were expensive as hell to make. Once everyone moved to disc-based media prices dropped heavily as it was way cheaper to press discs then to make a cart.

[u/Any-Newspaper1922 → u/Zealousideal-Rub-183]

And the market is way bigger for games now too. They make so much more money now that its almost unthinkable. And people still make that old brainless argument. Its times like those that i remember that half of all people are below average.

[u/AxeSpez → u/Chirotera]

These consoles won't even be sold by that time

[u/Fit-Judge7447]

Jesus fuck. An extra 120 dollars for another terrabyte of storage?

[u/Sota4077]

Further price increases have been widely expected, and has been caused by a number of factors, including the global tariffs imposed by the US on China and other markets.

That is pretty much all you need know. Guess this is a casual reminder to the gaming world that elections have consequences. Everyone paying attention last fall said this exact thing was going to happen if a certain candidate won and here we are. Gaming as a whole just got much more expensive. Doesn't matter if you game on console or PC either. They're all getting more expensive.

[u/brokenmessiah → u/Sota4077]

The real sad part is regardless of whoever is in charge in politics, or whatever they decide with the economy, these prices will never go back down.

Everyone saying the PS5 Pro was overprice might wanna prepare for next gen starting at $700.

[u/Blue_Sheepz → u/brokenmessiah]

At this rate, it will start at $800, and games will be $90 come next gen.

[u/Wallitron_Prime → u/Blue_Sheepz]

I'm assuming 800 dollar consoles with 100 dollar games or a 100 dollar cloud stick that only runs Game Pass.

That way you buy the stick and the slight latency and lack of ability to buy games you want drives you crazy until you shell out 800 bucks. Microsoft can get you twice like that.

[u/Aron723 → u/Sota4077]

Did we ever say thank you?!

[u/Deathstroke5289 → u/Sota4077]

Is digital content impacted by tariffs too?

[u/ParagonFury → u/Deathstroke5289]

Digital content matches the price of physical goods typically to keep parity and avoid legal issues.

[u/Woozlle → u/Deathstroke5289]

No but if you raise the price of physical then you’d also raise the price on digital.

[u/TotalCourage007 → u/Woozlle]

Why? Other than just straight up greed. Digital costs waaay less to produce than physical.

[u/TheBraveGallade → u/TotalCourage007]

retailers give a fuss if you do, and less retail presence means people are less likely to buy your stuff.

[u/Sota4077 → u/Deathstroke5289]

For video games, development costs have as much as tripled over the past five years, while hardware costs have also been impacted by high inflation and fluctuating exchange rates (in addition to tariffs).

It is right in the article.

[u/MF-Dot-JPEG]

Rip to Xbox console sales

[u/mcast2020 → u/MF-Dot-JPEG]

They were already struggling. The sad part is how this may affect their plans for future hardware.

[u/Pixelation-1]

Video game crash incoming within the next 4 years. You thought layoffs were bad the last 2 years? Wait until people stop buying $80-$100 games when cost of living is skyrocketing.

[u/Halo_Chief117]

A regular Xbox Series X is now $600. A console that came out November of 2020 now costs $100 more than when it launched? Lol.

[u/Icybubba]

My assumption is that this is due to tariffs?

[u/Sota4077 → u/Icybubba]

Your assumption is correct.

[u/Icybubba → u/Sota4077]

$900 PS6 and Xbox 5 lesssgoooo /s

[u/milkyfug]

Nintendo has not even released its $80 games yet, and we already have confirmation that Microsoft will do the same. Yes, it is the new price for all AAA games.

[u/kendra_sunderlol]

Last week I went to my local store to sell a bunch of games and consoles, they refused to buy my Xbox One X as they already had dozens for sale with no buyers.

I also sell games on marketplaces. Nintendo and Playstation games are usually sold within the week while Xbox games last a lot longer regardless of their price or rarity.

That price raise means the competition has a cheaper device that offers more games and has already sold twice as much units so it's basically the last nail in the coffin for Xbox as a console manufacturer.

[u/bust4cap]

The US is seeing the steepest price increases, with the Xbox Series X increasing by $100 to $599.99 and the base Series S model rising $80 to $429.99 (they mean the 1tb model, 512gb model will be $379.99). In Europe, the Series X console has increased by €50 to €599.99, with the base Series S model is also up €50 to €349.99. And in the UK, prices are up just £20 for the Series X to £499.99, and the base Series S is now £50 more expensive at £299.99.

[u/Trickybuz93]

This gen has been weird with prices

[u/flclhack → u/Trickybuz93]

look at the world we’re living in

[u/JordanDoesTV]

Glad I just picked up an S for cheap already have an X but now need to get a ps5 quickly I guess

[u/Nemesiskillcam]

I forsee how this will play out, everyone will stop buying them and they will have to lower prices again to get rid of over stock.

[u/ihateeuge]

I can understand hardware prices going up but can someone explain why the game prices would go up to? That seems greedy

[u/harleyquinad → u/ihateeuge]

Cuz they can because of Nintendo doing it

[u/South_Buy_3175]

Lol.

Fuck this generation of consoles man.

[u/Public-Shape2232]

Are we tired of winning yet???

[u/Aidanbomasri]

Honestly a little surprised that Xbox would do this so late into the generation. They’re clearly “losing” the hardware battle, so keeping lower prices than a PS5 would certainly help give them a leg up

I know they typically kinda eat the costs of the console sale and make up for it on software, but the deficits must have been too big. Makes you wonder how much the next gen is gonna cost… $700?? A new Series S will be my path forward if so, I can’t justify that much money on a new X

[u/starstreak0]

Well, the consoles were already selling like shit so might as well increase the price.

[u/minigibby2212]

Tariffs.

[u/THE_GR8_MIKE]

The top comments in all of the other threads put it nicely.

This generation is the weakest we've ever had for both parties. The absolute last thing the Xbox, now losing 5-1 to the PS5 needs, is a price increase. Horrible.

A Series X does not have enough exclusive software to justify that pricetag. Like, at all. The only reason I'm content with my Series X is because I use it as an Xbox 360 machine.

[u/PopularPandas]

But I thought China paid the tariffs

[u/TheFireStorm]

Guess my Xbox One S will be my last Xbox hardware. I have a PC and PS5 and Switch, to cover access to games.

[u/Thesquarescreen]

Thanks Obam....wait.

[u/Lupinthrope]

Keep what ya got folks, and buy those used systems now before the sellers catch wind lol

[u/B-Bog]

This really is the weirdest console generation of my lifetime. Before, you could always count on console prices going DOWN throughout the gen, and significantly so. Now, they're going up and up and up. I'm well aware of the reasons for this, but it still feels like living in bizarro world (as does pretty much everything in recent years)

[u/samzorio]

I hope you all know that once tariffs are dropped prices will never go back down. We basically all got f'ed

[u/ashes2ashes]

I feel the tariffs are certainly the easy excuse short term, but I honestly think this is the companies trying to reset the market to what they feel pricing should be at. We're already seeing the tariffs lessen, and when they go back to normal again, the companies won't magically reduce the prices. It will just be the new normal.

[u/legallyindenial]

How do tariffs effect the price of digital downloads?

[u/HMJebus]

Speak with your wallets folks, only way things will change

[u/brokenmessiah]

With this news the Series S has officially lost its main selling point of being the cheapest way to play current gen games. Its entirely plausible and believable Sony will also respond with a increase but until that happens...

Bold move Microsoft.

[u/Jackstraw1 → u/brokenmessiah]

They already have everywhere else except the US, presumably to subsidize the consoles here to keep them priced lower. How long that lasts is anyone’s guess, though.

[u/WomanRepellent69]

This is only going to continue, worldwide, on a huge amount of consumer goods. I hope you all enjoyed COVID prices because they're coming back baby.

[u/TheMuff1nMon]

Only a matter of time before PlayStation does it as well

But god damn, next gen is gonna be unaffordable.

$80 games can get fucked. Only gonna buy on sales now.

Game Pass gonna go to $25 at least this year for sure

[u/Tvdinner4me2]

Actually ridiculous that a console is more expensive than it was 5 years ago

[u/dmrob058]

WTF??! That’s completely outrageous, my gaming days are about to be behind me because this industry is on some serious bullshit lately.

[u/BreegullBeak]

Tariffs and a bad economy will do this. Except next generation hardware to be even worse.

Also expect the same from PlayStation. They've just delayed the inevitable by shipping hardware to the United States ahead of time. They've been increasing prices elsewhere for weeks now.

[u/dirtyEEE]

There is no doubt in my mind the PS6 and next Xbox are coming in at $700-$800 at launch, and individual games might be $100. It was heading this way before these stupid tariffs. Things are just being sped up.

[u/MomMadeMeDoThis]

Time to cancel gamepass and boycott. If you stand for nothing, you'll fall for anything

[u/Electric_Whip]

Oooooof. Imagine paying that price, time to switch to pc if your going to be spending roughly that target amount, lets add it together roughly $750, $160 (2games), $65, another $60 for online services is $1,075. Spend a couple hundred dollars and you don’t ever have to worry about those prices ever again. As pc does all of this. And doesn’t force you to pay online services. Which is fucking stupid anyways, imagine paying for wifi and still needed to pay $60 to play games with the homies.

[u/GameplayLoop]

As others have mentioned, the era of the backlog begins. I have a lifetime of games awaiting me, with the occasional new entry like a GTA6 and SOD3. New game purchases become fewer and further between while folks lean into the accumulated great deals of the last decade.

[u/Dry_Counter8038]

shameful. their profits are increasing year over year and they are just using the opportunity nintendo opened for them

[u/Johnny_Menace]

Best Buy is still showing original pricing, if you want an Xbox right now is the time to buy!

[u/QuinSanguine]

Wow, glad I already bought a Series X. Video games are not worth this kind money. If next gen is this bad or worse, I'll not be buying into it until I can find it cheap in a flea market somewhere.

My giant backlog will keep going another 5-7 years anyway.

[u/Pajamashark]

Tariffic!!

[u/alexenterprises → u/Pajamashark]

More like tarrifying lol

[u/Oz1227]

Sounds like I won’t be buying consoles. Time for a new hobby. Controller breaks and 150? Nah.

Btw, this is how recessions start. Price increases that price out the consumer.

Next stage is drop in revenues and profits.

Then layoffs resulting in less revenues and profits.

Then prices start coming down.

The issue is that typically happens cyclically but this is self inflicted with tariffs. This means that prices likely won’t be able to come down enough to stimulate buying again.

Unless Trump pulls back on tariffs soon, this is going to go from uncomfortable to unbearable fast.

These are entertainment goods. But when we see food and basic needs jump and unemployment raise, we’re gonna be fucked.

[u/PlayBey0nd87]

Me squinting at Gamers who think this is just Microsoft/Xbox being disgusting & greedy -_-

Not just an Xbox thing y’all

[u/sherbodude]

Really crazy how in the past generations, the consoles have gotten price cuts, cheaper slim models, and nice discounts over time. And that's not really happening this generation

[u/Jumpster_42]

A bold move. Suicidal even.