Microsoft is losing approximately $150 on every Xbox Series X it sells, and that negative margin will persist even after the console’s price increases in August, as reported by Windows Central and flagged by Push Square.
Beginning this Saturday, a 1TB Xbox Series X will cost $800 – an absurd sum for a system that is almost six years old. A memory component crisis, driven by the demands of AI, has pushed hardware costs upward across the industry. Sony, Nintendo, and Valve have all had to increase hardware prices as a result of this same crisis.
The roughly $150 per-unit loss is a sobering stat. Even after a price hike that most consumers would consider steep, Microsoft will still be selling the console in the red – illustrating just how severe the component cost problem has become.
The ripple effect on PS6 is the part of this story worth sitting with. PlayStation’s purchasing power is likely to protect it a little from the worst of this, but the environment will still be extremely challenging. Rumours suggest Sony was plotting a scaled-back, cost-efficient console and handheld for next-gen, but those plans may be complicated by the ongoing memory crisis. It will be difficult to justify a $1,000-plus piece of hardware, especially in an era of diminishing returns. It is possible PlayStation may delay the PS6, but costs may not come down until 2030, by which point the PS5 will be particularly stale.
Push Square’s editorial framing – that PlayStation may be heading toward a $1,000-plus next-gen console in conditions where enthusiasm is already eroding – is opinion, but it is opinion grounded in a real structural problem.
PlayStation has historically been a savvy marketer and has managed to build hype around its products – but navigating the headwinds facing the PS6 will require the company to be at the top of its game.
At what price point does a next-gen console stop making sense for your household – and do you think Sony has the leverage to keep PS6 below four figures? Let us know in the comments, and keep following GameLuster as this story develops.
