If you’ve been mulling an Xbox Series X/S console purchase, it might be a good time to take the plunge, given the news coming out of Japan today.
Microsoft has announced a price increase for its flagship consoles in Japan, representing the first time the company has raised the price of the console since its launch in 2020.
The prices will go up around by the equivalent of around £30 from Friday February 17. The Xbox Series X will go from ¥54,978 (around £342) to ¥59,978 (around £373), while the Xbox Series S is going up from ¥32,278 (about £201) to ¥37,978 (about £236).
In a statement issued to Famitsu (translated by Gemastu) a Microsoft spokesperson said: “After carefully evaluating the market condition in Japan, we have decided to change the suggested retail price of Xbox consoles in the country.
“We regularly evaluate the impact of local pricing to maintain reasonable consistency across regions. This price revision affects our customers and was a difficult decision to make, but going forward we will continue to provide the ultimate Xbox experience that our customers expect.”
Microsoft has been reluctant to follow Sony’s lead after it raised the price of the PS5 last summer. However, in October, gaming head Phil Spencer said it was possible after Christmas.
“Going into this holiday, we thought it was really important that we maintain the prices that we have,” Spencer told an audience in Laguna Beach, California. “Consumers right now are more uncertain than they have been in a long time, and I want our medium of video games to be something that they find attractive.”
“We have to look at the return on our business the cost of the business,” Spencer said. “We’ve held price on our console, we’ve held price on games for us and our subscription. I don’t think we’ll be able to do that forever.”
Don’t say we didn’t warn you!
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Editorial independence means being able to give an unbiased verdict about a product or company, with the avoidance of conflicts of interest. To ensure this is possible, every member of the editorial staff follows a clear code of conduct.
Professional conduct
We also expect our journalists to follow clear ethical standards in their work. Our staff members must strive for honesty and accuracy in everything they do. We follow the IPSO Editors’ code of practice to underpin these standards.