‘They didn’t plan at all’: Xbox reportedly warning of yet another potential price increase
Global DRAM shortages could soon affect Xbox consoles, it’s claimed
Global RAM price increases could reportedly trigger another wave of price hikes for Xbox consoles.
That’s according to Moore’s Law is Dead, which claims that Microsoft sales reps have already warned that the sharp increase in component costs could soon affect Xbox Series X and S.
DRAM contract prices have reportedly increased over 170% year-over-year, driven by a huge agreement signed by Samsung and SK in October, which will supply OpenAI with nearly half of the world’s DRAM output for its Stargate data centers.
According to Moore’s Law is Dead’s sources, the resulting price hikes and shortages have left companies without a large stock of components, reportedly including Microsoft, exposed.
“They didn’t plan ahead at all,” said host Tom. “If you still want an Xbox for some reason at their current pricing, those prices could go up soon, or supply could just entirely dry up.
“Because multiple sources of mine have apparently been warned by sales reps at Microsoft that this is going to affect the Xbox Series consoles very, very soon, sooner rather than later.”
According to MLID, PlayStation is less likely to be affected by the DRAM price increases.
“Believe it or not, PlayStation, from what I’ve heard, Sony planned ahead, bought up gobs of RAM near the bottom of the pricing, and thus they should be fine for months. They have plenty of GDDR6. At least that’s what I’m told.”
Currently, PS5 retails for $500-$550, with PS5 Pro retailing for $750, and Xbox Series X starting from $600. Both platform holders have raised prices this year.
Microsoft announced back in May that it was increasing the prices of its consoles globally, including increasing the price of Xbox Series X and S consoles in the US by $100 and $80, respectively.
Then, in September, Xbox raised prices even further, but only in the United States due to “changes in the macroeconomic environment”.
Both the 512GB and 1TB models of the Xbox Series S saw $20 increases on top of the $80 increases they received in May, while the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series X Digital had their prices raised a further $50.
