Speaking at WSJ Live, Xbox Boss Phil Spencer hinted at the possible increase of console, game, and subscription prices for his brand. Back in August, Spencer had previously stated that there were no plans to hike up the price of the Xbox Series S and X consoles, following Sony's announcement that it was ramping up the cost of the PS5 in some areas. However, it seems that as time has gone on, the likelihood of Xbox increasing the price of its console has grown.
The Xbox boss has informed gamers that things will stay as they are for this holiday season, but hasn't given any guarantee that the prices of consoles will remain untouched going into the future. In his latest interview, Spencer also said that the cost of games, and the Xbox Game Pass subscription service, could grow as well. Right now, things are uncertain, and Spencer hasn't confirmed what Xbox will increase the price on if it does make the decision to raise costs at all. However, should Microsoft move forward with price increases, this could have a big impact on the industry as a whole.
How Xbox's Price Increases Could Shake Up the Gaming Industry
There are a few ways that Xbox could increase the prices of its products, with one of the clearest options being a change to the cost of its consoles. This wouldn't be unheard of, considering the economic state of the world right now and the aforementioned fact that Sony also rose the price of the PS5 earlier this year. If Xbox does follow PlayStation's suit, it is possible that the Xbox Series X and S could see a rise of around 10%, meaning a potential $60 increase on the former machine and a $30 growth on the latter.
Despite an initial outpour of gamers dissatisfied with Sony's decision, it appears that the PlayStation 5 is in such high demand that the decision to raise its price won't alter its sales figures by much. Xbox consoles are in a similar state of demand, with Phil Spencer even commenting that it might be unlikely there will be enough Series X and S machines to meet expectations this holiday season. This means that should Xbox increase its console prices, there might not be that much of an overall impact on sales figures.
Something that Xbox has prided itself on in recent years is the cheapness of the Series S. Should this change though, Microsoft might not be able to brag about the price of the less powerful console anymore, leading to it not being as popular as it has been. The popularity of the Series S has been somewhat of a surprise to many, with it even outselling the PlayStation 5 in Japan earlier this year. So, while there might not be a major effect on Xbox's sales should it increase console prices, the company might have to switch up some its marketing, as it may no longer be able to brag about the cost of the Series S.
Beyond consoles, there are other ways in which Xbox could increase the prices of its products. A lot of people online are speculating that possibly the most logical step for Microsoft might be to increase the prices of its games, which mostly remain at $60. The $70 price point of a video game can be a controversial topic, especially when considering the debates around titles like The Last of Us: Part 1 and whether certain releases are worth the hefty cost. However, $70 video games are somewhat of a norm nowadays, so it would make sense for Xbox to follow an industry trend and hop on the bandwagon.
There's also the matter of Xbox Game Pass, the highly successful subscription service that Spencer confirmed makes up about 15% of the total profits of Microsoft's gaming division. Xbox Game Pass gives day one access to plenty of titles and adds more to its library every so often for a monthly fee. Perhaps the deal Xbox is offering a lot of gamers is too good to be true, and a price increase will better reflect what Game Pass offers, but this would also prove to be an incredibly controversial decision, especially after users have gotten used to the price they've been paying for years.
It's likely Xbox will find some controversy among its users no matter what it increases the price of. However, it is unlikely that these price hikes will revolutionize the gaming industry, and Xbox is probably going to be following industry trends, rather than striking out on its own by adding an extra $100 to the Series X tag. There is the potential that gamers may not be seeing any price changes for a while, too, as Phil Spencer didn't mention when the company would be looking at increases.