All across the industry, prices are rising. We've seen hardware prices go up, as the PlayStation 5 is more expensive than when it launched, and subscription prices hike up as well, following last month's announcement that Xbox Game Pass Ultimate would go from $16.99 to $19.99 a month. The latest price increase will be for the Xbox Series X|S, where the MSRP of the console will increase a fair bit, but only for customers in Japan. In a market that Microsoft has struggled to compete in, it'll be even harder to move Xbox units, as the Xbox Series X will go from 59,978 yen to 66,978 yen, the Xbox Series S (1TB) will go from 44,578 yen to 49,978 yen, and finally, the base model Xbox Series S will go from 37,978 yen to 44,578 yen.

Currently, the Xbox Series X and the Xbox Series S have combined to sell about 600,000 units total. While that number is staggeringly low, it is worth noting that it's an increase over the last generation, as Microsoft only ever sold about 100,000 Xbox One systems throughout that console's lifetime.

Source

 

[SylverReZ]

Microsoft had struggled to push the Xbox in Japan, my theory is that Nintendo and Sony were mostly dominating the market by that point.

 

[Aergisgeist]

They already struggle to do much in Japan, I guess maybe they just don't care about that market anymore

 

[LoggerMan]

I bet xbox fans in Japan are really nice people, slow to anger.

 

[Jayinem]

No one wants Xbox in Japan, so their solution is raise the price and even less will want it.

I'm surprised that after Xbox 360 at the very latest they didn't pull out from Japan completely.

Post automatically merged: Aug 3, 2024

I bet xbox fans in Japan are really nice people, slow to anger.

That's a conspiracy theory they don't exist.

 

[Latiodile]

this seems like the opposite of what you'd want to do if you want to increase sales in a declining market country

 

[K3Nv2]

Some kid in Japan may want an Xbox that's say 13ish. The parents without being up to date on anything in the tech world will go to the game store down the corner and ask the cashier "how much is this, my son wants an Xbox." the cashier won't say "oh it use to be X amount cheaper should've bought it then."

Point is not everyone keeps up to date with pricing regardless of how many units are actually being sold.

 

[The Catboy]

What even is Microsoft’s strategy? They’ve been struggling for years in Japan. Seriously, I am starting to think they are trying to make the Xbox fail

 

[Bladexdsl]

I bet xbox fans in Japan are really nice people, slow to anger.

there are xbox fans in japan?

 

[SDA]

Not surprising, since Sony is always first at sales in its home country.

 

[Marc_LFD]

Great idea... To kill Xbox in Japan.

Post automatically merged: Aug 3, 2024

there are xbox fans in japan?

Yeah, about five.

 

[Faust03]

Yeah man, that's gonna make people over there interested in getting one lmao

 

[Marc_LFD]

Yeah man, that's gonna make people over there interested in getting one lmao

I'm a Westerner and loved the Xbox 360, but have absolutely zero interest getting a One / Series X.

 

[Payne]

"Press F to commit sepoku"

 

[CMDreamer]

Nice product-killing marketing strategy MSucks.

 

[fmhugo]

Fire TV Stick is cheap

 

[CoolMe]

I don't see the reasoning behind the increase either, just keep it the same atleast, unless the cost of manufacturing/distribution (overall) somehow increased and is the main reason behind this?

 

[NitroRevolutionNX]

I don't understand this, M$ is already struggling to sell the Xbox in Japan, let alone a price increase.

They are trying to kill it off in Japan?

 

[Dothackjhe]

Microsoft had struggled to push the Xbox in Japan, my theory is that Nintendo and Sony were mostly dominating the market by that point.

This has always been the case since the original Xbox.

 

[ZeroT21]

Xbox exists in Japan?