Microsoft To Raise Prices for Xbox Series X|S in Japan

Microsoft has announced the price increase for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in Japan.

According to Famitsu's report (via Gematsu), the retail price of the Xbox Series S will go up to ¥37,978 ($292) from its original cost of ¥32,978 ($254). Meanwhile, the cost of the Xbox Series X will rise to ¥59,978 ($462) from its previous price of ¥54,978 ($423).

The changes will come into effect starting February 17.

Microsoft Japan representative stated that the company decided to raise prices for Xbox Series X|S after evaluating the market condition in the country and noted that the price revision was a difficult decision but necessary. 

"We regularly evaluate the impact of local pricing to maintain reasonable consistency across regions. This price revision affects our customers and was a difficult decision to make, but going forward we will continue to provide the ultimate Xbox experience that our customers expect," they said.

The price increase for Microsoft's last-gen consoles in Japan comes shortly after the company announced that it would be raising prices for first-party Xbox games from $60 to $70 starting in 2023.

Although previously, Microsoft claimed that it didn't have plans to increase Xbox Series X|S prices, in September, Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer mentioned in an interview with CNBC that he didn't rule out the possibility of a price increase in the future.

A month later, the head of Xbox once again spoke about the topic of the price increase, saying that Microsoft would eventually have to increase prices on certain products, presumably meaning both game and hardware prices.

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