Today Sony announced that in most regions The PlayStation 5 would see a price increase as a result of inflation. In response to this news, people began to wonder if other console manufacturers would make similar price increases. The answer seems to be no, at least for now. But both Nintendo and Microsoft were careful to leave open the possibility of future price increases.
After Sony confirmed this, due to ongoing global inflationboth versions of the PS5 would see price increases in multiple regions –including Canada, Mexico, China and the UK– was the next obvious question many asked: Would any other company take the same drastic step? This is the internet, after all, a place where people are constantly yelling at each other about which console is better or worse, and hatching conspiracies to explain why websites are writing good or bad news about consoles. So obviously if Sony does something, people have to choose sides and start asking questions about Xbox and Nintendo.
my box contacted Xbox about the Sony PS5 price increase and whether the company had similar plans to increase the price of the Xbox Series X or S. Microsoft’s answer is a bit wishy-washy and doesn’t mention any firm plans one way or the other.
Here is the full explanation:
We are constantly evaluating our business to provide great gaming opportunities for our fans. Our suggested retail price for Xbox Series S remains $299 and Xbox Series X $499. This also applies to other markets and their current prices.
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While it has been confirmed that the price hasn’t changed at the moment, it leaves open the very real possibility that as inflation rises, the tech company could decide to increase the price of one or both of its Xbox variants.
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Meanwhile, earlier this month, Nintendo’s President Shuntaro Furukawa narrates Nike Asia that a price increase for Switch is “not being considered” at this time, adding that the company doesn’t want to discourage people from buying its wildly popular console.
“Our competition is the variety of entertainment in the world,” Furukawa said. “And we always price with the value of the fun we’re offering in mind…Nintendo has sold more than 100 million Switch units to date and it’s important to maintain momentum in our overall business.”
However, this statement leaves the pricing issue open for Nintendo to change prices on the Switch if necessary. However, Nintendo has already increased the price in a way Switch over the improved OLED model that was released last year. This is how Nintendo often increases the prices of its consoles without having to do a more traditional price increase like Sony.
IIt’s likely that both companies will be keeping a close eye on how markets, critics, and fans react to Sony’s PS5 price hike as they ponder how to deal with inflation. And while the gaming market is starting to slow down a bit After the huge numbers during the pandemic, you better believe companies like Nintendo are open to different ways to keep their boats afloat as people start to have less income to spend on video game consoles and games.