Xbox Series X price hiked by £170 due to rising memory chip costs
Xbox consoles now cost significantly more in the UK, with one model increasing in price by 43%.
Microsoft has implemented a global price increase for its Xbox consoles, attributing the change to the escalating costs of memory and storage chips.
The premium Xbox Series X, which includes a disc drive, will now retail for £670, a significant jump from its previous price of £500. Similarly, the entry-level Xbox Series S console has seen its price rise to £430, marking an approximate 43% increase from its former £300 price point.
This move places Microsoft among several technology companies that have informed consumers about the necessity of higher prices due to surging component costs. Rival Sony, for instance, raised the price of its PlayStation 5 by £90 in March.
In June, Microsoft had expressed its hope that "another price increase would not be necessary," but ultimately cited the rising expenses of console storage and memory as the reason for passing these costs onto consumers.
Beyond the UK, the basic Xbox consoles in the US have increased by $100 to $499, while models with expanded memory now cost $749, up by $150. The EU has also seen comparable price hikes, with a Series S console featuring more storage now costing roughly €200 more than before.
In addition to Sony's PlayStation price adjustments, Valve, the creator of the Steam Machine, launched its PC-console hybrid at a much higher price than initially anticipated. Both companies similarly pointed to the growing expenses of the hardware and storage components essential for their devices.
Random-access memory (RAM), once an inexpensive component for providing short-term memory in computers and various gadgets, has experienced a sharp price increase, partly due to demand from AI companies. Graphics cards, crucial for consoles and gaming PCs, have also seen their prices climb because of their role in generating AI content.
However, major tech firms have faced criticism for transferring these costs to consumers, especially when it results in exorbitant prices for products released years ago. X user @BlackPanthaa described the new Xbox Series S price as "absolutely disgusting," while a Reddit user labeled it "highway robbery for a console released 6 years ago."
There are concerns that console prices, which have generally risen across the board in recent months, could continue to climb. Jez Corden, an editor at Windows Central, commented on X regarding Xbox's price increases, stating, "This ain't even the ceiling."
The gaming head at Amazon recently suggested to the BBC that increasing hardware costs might lead more people to abandon consoles in favor of streaming games.
Xbox has also encountered its own challenges recently, with owner Microsoft reporting a dip in revenues across its gaming division. In July, the company initiated what executives termed "the most significant restructure in Xbox history," involving approximately 3,200 workforce reductions.
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