Xbox Series X and Series S are getting a price increase in Japan

Microsoft has announced that it plans to increase the price of the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S in Japan.

From February 17, the Xbox Series X will see its suggested retail price rise from ¥54,978 to ¥59,978 ($421 to $460), and Xbox Series S will increase from ¥32,278 to ¥37,978 ($247 to $291).

In a statement (via Gematsu) Microsoft said: “After carefully evaluating the market condition of Japan, we have decided to change the suggested retail price of Xbox consoles in the country.

“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.”

Microsoft’s head of gaming Phil Spencer has previously hinted that Xbox price increases could happen in the future.

Speaking at WSJ Tech Live last year, the Xbox boss discussed the console’s price point, as well as the prospect of charging $70 for games – something most third-party publishers (and rival Sony) now do.

“I think at some point we’ll have to raise the prices on certain things,” Spencer said (via journalist Tom Warren), “but going into the holiday we thought it was important to maintain the prices.”

He added: “We’ve held price on our console, we’ve held price on games… and our subscription. I don’t think we’ll be able to do that forever. I do think at some point we’ll have to raise some prices on certain things.”

Months later, Microsoft announced it would increase the price of its upcoming software.

Further reading

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Xbox claims it held off price rises as long as it could but ‘something had to give’

Microsoft recently confirmed plans to increase first-party game prices to $70

Major first titles from Xbox Game Studios like Forza Motorsport, Redfall, and Starfield will cost $69.99 at launch in the US.

In August, citing the challenging global economic environment, Sony raised PS5 prices in Europe, Japan, and parts of North America.

Following Sony’s announcement, the UK arms of both Microsoft and Nintendo told VGC that they weren’t planning to raise console prices at that time.