- The gaming industry continues to increase the price of hardware, software, and various services.
- A total of eight major price hikes have been made by PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo over the last six months.
- These prices impact the PS5, Xbox Series S|X, Xbox Game Pass, and more.
The gaming industry has become significantly less budget-friendly than it used to be. Where consoles and games were sold for dirt cheap at one point, prices have only gone up over the last few years.
In fact, all three major console manufacturers have raised prices. The situation is so bad that a whopping 8 price hikes have been put into effect over the last 6 months.
Why it matters: The global economy continues to change for the worse, raising doubts about the future of gaming’s affordability and mass appeal.
As mentioned above, PlayStation, Xbox, and Nintendo have all raised prices on various occasions, one way or the other. The following is a list of the most notable prices:
- Xbox Game Pass Price Hike
- Xbox Series S|X Console Price Update
- Xbox Series S|X Console Price Update 2
- PlayStation Plus Price Hike
- PlayStation Console Price Update
- Nintendo Switch 2 Accessory Price Revision
- Nintendo Switch Console Price Update
- $80 AAA Pricing Standard
Among the giants, both Xbox and Nintendo bring three price hikes to the table.
The former has been the subject of mass criticism after hiking Xbox Series S|X prices twice in a short duration. Both changes were massive, bumping the cost of the Xbox Series X up to $600 and then to $650.
Moreover, Xbox Game Pass Ultimate saw a whopping 50% price uplift earlier this week, bringing the monthly cost up to $30. These three changes alone make the Xbox brand significantly worse than it used to be.
Elsewhere, Nintendo set a new standard after it launched the first $80 AAA title with Mario Kart World. This change only impacts Nintendo titles for now, but it will likely be much worse for the industry in the long term once PlayStation and Xbox follow suit.
Nintendo Switch 2 accessories were also made more expensive by $5-10 in the past, and the gaming giant even raised the cost of the nearly decade-old Nintendo Switch by around $30-50, depending on the model.
As for PlayStation, the PS5 consoles saw a modest price bump of $50 across the board last month. This change impacted all models, and Sony even began offering the vanilla PS5 consoles with less storage as a cost-cutting measure. Finally, PS Plus prices were raised in 15 countries recently.
All put together, console gaming is now more expensive than it was last year, something that impacts all three platforms.
It would also not be surprising to see more price hikes in the near future. PlayStation, for instance, might make PS Plus Premium more expensive after seeing Xbox’s changes to Game Pass.
Similarly, Nintendo has discussed Switch 2 pricing changes on more than one occasion already.
What do you make of the current state of gaming? Let’s discuss in the comments and on the Tech4Gamers Forums?
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[Senior News Reporter]
Avinash is currently pursuing a Business degree in Australia. For more than 5 years, he has been working as a gaming journalist, utilizing his writing skills and love for gaming to report on the latest updates in the industry. Avinash loves to play action games like Devil May Cry and has also been mentioned on highly regarded websites, such as IGN, GamesRadar, GameRant, Dualshockers, CBR, and Gamespot.
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