Microsoft Increases Xbox Console Prices Globally Citing Rising Component Costs
En resumen
- Microsoft has increased the price of its Xbox Series X and Series S consoles worldwide, including in the UK, US, and EU, attributing the hikes to rising memory and storage chip costs.
- This follows similar price adjustments by rivals Sony for PlayStation 5 and Valve for Steam Machine.
Resumen generado por IA
Por qué importa
Microsoft increased Xbox console prices globally, citing rising memory and storage chip costs, following a previous statement in June hoping to avoid such a hike.
Microsoft has increased the price of Xbox consoles worldwide, citing rising memory and storage chip costs.
Its premium Series X console with a disc drive will now cost £670, when it previously retailed for £500.
Meanwhile a baseline Xbox Series S console now costs £430 - a roughly 43% increase on its previous £300 price tag.
It is among a host of tech firms to have told consumers that spiralling component costs mean they must charge more, with rival Sony hiking PlayStation 5 prices by £90 in March.
Microsoft said in June it had "hoped another price increase would not be necessary", but blamed the rising cost of console storage and memory for needing to raise prices on consumers.
In the US, its basic consoles rose by $100 to $499, and the cost of a console with more memory increased by $150 to $749.
Similar increases have been revealed in the EU as well - where a Series S console with more storage will cost roughly €200 more than it did before.
As well as Sony increasing PlayStation prices, Steam Machine maker Valve launched its PC-console hybrid at a much higher cost than expected.
Both likewise pointed to mounting costs for the hardware and storage components needed to power their devices.
Preguntas abiertas
- How will the price increases affect Xbox sales volumes?
- Will other console manufacturers follow suit with similar price hikes?
- What is the long-term outlook for component costs?
