Xbox in Japan: prices revised upwards

Microsoft is raising prices for its next generation Xbox consoles in Japan.

Starting February 17, the Xbox Series X price will drop from 54,978 yen to 59,978 yen ($421 to $460 / €390 to €425), while the Xbox Series S price will drop from 32,278 to 37,978 yen ($247). up to 291 dollars / from 228 euros to 270 euros), throughout the Japanese archipelago.

Xbox Series X|S, 2, 17

Xbox Series X – 59978,
Xbox Series S – 37978

#xbox_ _

https://t.co/Y8IaGUAFPQ pic.twitter.com/LzL7qHg9UH

— ファミ通.com (@famitsu) January 31, 2023

A Microsoft spokesperson said:

After carefully studying the situation in the Japanese market, we have decided to change the suggested retail price for the Xbox console in this country. We regularly evaluate the impact of local pricing to maintain reasonable consistency across regions. This pricing review is impacting our customers and it has been a tough decision, but we will continue to deliver the best Xbox experience our customers have come to expect.

Microsoft turns its back on rising prices for consoles and games

Last year, Phil Spencer, head of games at Microsoft, explained that raising the price of video games wouldn’t be an issue for the Redmond-based firm for a few more years:

I think at some point we will have to raise the prices of some things, but with the holidays approaching, we thought it was important to keep prices low. We’ve kept the price of our console, we’ve kept the price of games…and our subscription. I don’t think we can do this forever. I think at some point we will have to raise the prices of some products.

Just a year after this announcement, Microsoft officially raised the prices of its games (€80) as well as the prices of its Xbox consoles in Japan.