Talking Point: Would You Still Buy An Xbox At Microsoft's Increased Prices?

Earlier this week, Microsoft announced that — in the midst of increased economic uncertainty — it is raising the prices of its Xbox consoles, accessories and games. In an unprecedented move compared to past console generations, Xbox's flagship console is going up by $100 five years after it launched - and it's making us think about how this price point would have gone down had Microsoft launched with it back in 2020.

Xbox Series X is now coming in at $599.99 in the US - yes, that dreaded, meme-ridden $599 price tag. We suppose that, in a world of increased costs pretty much across the board, this isn't that shocking of a price point - but we've been conditioned to believe that launching a console above $500 is asking for trouble. With Microsoft's lacklustre next-gen games lineup five years ago, we think $600 would have been a very tough ask at launch.

Of course, we've always had Xbox Series S to offer up a cheaper alternative this generation - although that console's price tag has now increased as well. We're now talking $379.99 — up from the console's $299.99 launch price — which is an even bigger percentage increase than Xbox Series X. Do you think these new prices would have changed your mind on which of the two consoles to buy? Would you have avoided them entirely and waited for a price drop? It's an interesting thought to ponder!

Xbox games are going up in price too, at least on the high-end, where $80 games are going to become a reality. As you may have seen elsewhere at Pure Xbox, we've already discussed this point; concluding that Xbox Game Pass really is the ultimate no-brainer for Xbox players these days. Microsoft's subscription service could make more expensive consoles an easier pill to swallow, but we're glad we own our systems from before the price bump.

Anyway, if you were looking to buy an Xbox Series X|S console again, would you still consider it at these increased prices? If they were this high at launch, would you have been put off investing in a next-gen Xbox?

Would You Pay Microsoft's 2025 Prices For An Xbox Console?

Vote in the poll up above and talk to us about this topic in the comments!