After the announcement of the PS5 price increase, Microsoft quickly wanted to reassure players. The company does not plan to increase the prices of its latest generation Xbox consoles, despite inflation.
Yesterday, Sony dropped a small bomb on the console market by announcing that the price of its PS5 would soon increase in Europe and other markets, whether it is the digital version or the classic version. Indeed, the two Sony consoles will now be respectively offered at 449.99 euros and 549.99 euros, or 50 euros more than their initial price.
To justify these increases, the Japanese giant evokes the consequences of inflation, which probably had a major impact on its margins. With components becoming more and more expensive, it’s probably complicated for manufacturers to continue selling consoles at the same price as before the pandemic. These were already far from bringing them a lot of money since most of the profits of the companies are provided by the sale of games. Inflation has therefore not helped, and Sony has been forced to increase its prices. However, not everyone will make this choice.
Microsoft Won’t Increase Xbox Prices
While Nintendo recently promised it won’t raise the price of the Switch despite inflation, Microsoft has also spoken out about the pricing of its Xbox consoles. In a statement released hours after Sony’s announcement, Microsoft promised that no Xbox Series X or Xbox Series S price increases are planned.
The American company has assured that its consoles will continue to be sold at their recommended prices, that is to say, 299 euros for the Xbox Series S, and 499 euros for the Xbox Series X. The latter is therefore now offered at 50 euros less than the PS5, which could encourage more players to choose it.
It is recalled that due to the global shortage of semiconductors, the PS5 are always quite complicated to find on sale, while it is generally easier to get your hands on an Xbox Series X. Recently, the CEO of Microsoft, Satya Nadella, has also revealed that the Xbox Series X and S are a real hit and that they remain the best-selling generation in its history. Microsoft is therefore taking advantage of Sony’s bad situation, and this could now last thanks to the new price difference.
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