Xbox isn't hiking prices in response to PS5

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Prices for Xbox Series X and S consoles are not currently set to increase in response to the newly-announced PS5 price hike, Microsoft has confirmed.

"We are constantly evaluating our business to offer our fans great gaming options," a Microsoft representative tells Windows Central(opens in new tab). "Our Xbox Series S suggested retail price remains at $299 (£250, €300) the Xbox Series X is $499 (£450, €500)."

Microsoft's statement comes in response to the worldwide price increase for both models of the PS5 console. Every region outside of the US will soon see a bigger price tag on new PS5s, though the hike is hitting particularly hard in Japan, where the price is increasing by over 20%. That's already gotten Japanese fans who are eager to play the PS5-exclusive Final Fantasy 16 more desperate for a PC port.

Earlier this month, Bloomberg(opens in new tab) published an analysis of the console market in Japan, speculating whether Sony, Microsoft, or Nintendo would need to raise prices in response to hardware shortages and extreme inflation for the yen. While video game machines have been priced in Japan fairly consistently based on old exchange rates between yen and USD, the value of the yen has dropped precipitously since 2020, and in the worldwide market, it's now dramatically cheaper to buy a PS5 in Japan than it is in the US.

Of course, that only addresses the price increase in Japan, and PS5's sticker is going up across most of the world. Microsoft's position on Xbox prices could still change in the future as global economic factors continue to shift, but for now, it seems that the green machine is going to be the more cost-efficient choice in the near term.