Andrew Heinzman
On August 25th, Sony announced a near-global price hike for the PlayStation 5, citing inflationary pressure and the reduced value of some countries’ currencies. This led gamers to ask whether the Xbox or Nintendo Switch would receive a similar price hike—the answer is “no.”
Both Nintendo and Microsoft will continue to sell their consoles at current prices. In response to Windows Latest, Microsoft states that it is “constantly evaluating our business to offer our fans great gaming options. Our Xbox Series S suggested retail price remains at $299 (£250, €300) the Xbox Series X is $499 (£450, €500).”
Earlier this year, Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa told shareholders that “we currently do not have any plans to change the price of our hardware due to inflation or increased procurement costs in each country.” When Eurogamer asked if plans had changed on August 26th, Nintendo simply responded with the previous quote.
It seems that Sony is alone in this situation. Still, there’s no guarantee that Nintendo or Microsoft will permanently maintain their pricing. If economic pressure continues to build, these companies could be forced to adjust pricing in select regions.
