Xbox's Second Price Hike in a Year Leaves Gamers Furious

Though there have been some notable spikes over the years, few can deny that this has been an expensive generation to be a console gamer. Games themselves are considerably more expensive than they used to be, but it's the hardware required to play them that really sets players back.

The PlayStation 5 ranged from £359.99-£449.99/$399.99-$499.99 at launch, depending on whether you went with the Standard or Digital edition of the console, whilst the Xbox Series X was also £449.99/$499.99. That left the Xbox Series S at £249.99/$299.99 as the only truly affordable option for those who want to play.

In an interesting trend change from previous generations, the prices of those consoles hasn't come down in many places, with the price actually going up for both PlayStation and Xbox in the United States.

As first reported by Tweak Town, the Xbox Series X has gone up in price yet again in the USA, with the 2TB model now clocking in at a staggering $800. Those hikes come about as a result of difficult economic conditions globally, as well as significant tariffs imposed by the country's governing administration.

In a post sharing the news on Reddit, fans shared their opinions on the new pricing, and what this means for consumers going forward.

"Yeah, I waited to get the Series X until May 2023 (2 1/2 years in) and it was still the launch price of $500 (but I had saved up enough MS Reward points that it only cost me $52). Can't imagine wanting a Series X console almost 5 years into the gen and spending $150 more than it cost at launch," one said.

"I'm honestly surprised Microsoft hasn't gone to the US goverment and ask for breaks, saying they are the only US based brand who makes a console and foreign based ones are beating them," another added.

Others confirmed that these new official prices may be enough to warn them off getting the console entirely, with one saying, "Dang dude. I don’t play Xbox much but I was going to upgrade from my OG Xbox One for the new slate of games coming out. I don’t want to spend much given I don’t play much, but the price is just getting worse and worse, lol. $650 is crazy when people got them for $350 early on."

With global economic conditions not showing any significant signs of improvement, fans may be waiting some time for the prices to come down, particularly if they're based in the US.