The Xbox Series X price could react to PS5’s position, Phil Spencer suggests

Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said he “feels good” about the company’s price target for Xbox Series X but suggested that the platform holder is prepared to react to Sony’s own pricing for PS5.

Spencer has previously said he’s aware that Xbox’s current-gen console was “out of position” in terms of both price and power when in launched in 2013, an error which contributed to the platform’s stuttering start and ultimately left it stuck in last place in terms of market share.

At launch Xbox One cost $100 more than PlayStation 4. In a new IGN video published on Wednesday, Spencer suggested that Xbox Series X was unlikely to be so far out on pricing.

“I feel good about the price that we’re going to be able to get to,” Spencer said. “I feel good about the price and the performance capabilities that we have with Series X. I feel incredibly strong about the overall package.”

He added: “We’re definitely going to be keeping our eyes wide open as we go towards launch, looking at what the competition is doing. But we have a plan and we feel very solid about our plan. We think it’s a winning plan… I feel that we’ve got a plan that can win.”

Asked if Xbox was able to react to PS5’s pricing, Spencer confirmed the platform holder would remain “agile”.

“We’re getting incredible support from Microsoft… they’re very linked into what our plans are. We’re going to make sure we stay agile on our pricing and that we have a good plan going into launch.”

He added that as well as competitive pricing, Series X also needs to offer a strong proposition for players.

“You’ve got to obviously be at a competitive price, you’ve got to have an offering that meets the needs of the customers that you want and in many cases exceeds the needs of what they expected, and watching the response [to Series X] I feel good about that,” he said.

“But when I think about programs like Game Pass and how important I think that can be in a purchase decision for somebody, when I think about things like Smart Delivery, our backcompat program… we’re out there breaking some of the traditional tropes that are in the console gaming space because we’re trying to put the customer at the centre.”

Sony has previously suggested that the PS5 price has yet to be determined and that it could also react to what the competition is doing.

One report in February claimed Sony was struggling to determine the PlayStation 5 price, with parts shortages driving the manufacturing costs for the next-gen console up to around $450 per unit.