Let’s set the scene: The U.S., the Disneyland of capitalist nonsense, is caught up in a whirlwind of tariffs, inflation, and boneheaded economic decisions. And while we’re not here to talk about politics — because that’s just what your timeline needs more of — we are here to talk about how those political pinwheels are turning our favorite hobby into a luxury reserved for trust-fund teens and crypto bros.
Microsoft, the self-declared “loser” of the console wars, has decided that now — yes, now — is the perfect time to jack up the price of its Xbox consoles. All of them. Even the digital ones that don’t come with a disc drive, or a sense of dignity. Oh, and let’s not forget about the accessories. Yeah, those are all going up, too.
Here’s what your wallet’s about to feel like:
- Xbox Series S 512 – $379.99 (up from $299.99)
- Xbox Series S 1TB – $429.99 (up from $349.99)
- Xbox Series X Digital – $549.99 (up from $449.99)
- Xbox Series X – $599.99 (up from $499.99)
- Xbox Series X 2TB Galaxy Special Edition $729.99 (up from $599.99)
- Xbox Wireless Controller (Core) – $64.99
- Xbox Wireless Controller (Color) – $69.99
- Xbox Wireless Controller – Special Edition – $79.99
- Xbox Wireless Controller – Limited Edition – $89.99 (up from $79.99)
- Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 (Core) – $149.99 (up from $139.99)
- Xbox Elite Wireless Controller Series 2 (Full) – $199.99 (up from $179.99)
- Xbox Stereo Headset -$64.99
- Xbox Wireless Headset – $119.99 (up from $109.99)
Never have we seen a game console get a massive price hike at the tail end of its life cycle. Bet those $350 Best Buy Black Friday bundle deals looked pretty sweet a couple years ago now, huh? And Microsoft’s excuse for all this? A cliche corporate word salad that basically boils down to: “We’re doing this because money is hard and tariffs are scary.” Their official statement just oozes vague corporate empathy:
“We understand that these changes are challenging, and they were made with careful consideration given market conditions and the rising cost of development.”
Translation: We’re sorry you’re broke, but we like money more than we like you.
And as if that wasn’t enough to make you consider a Jack Sparrow career, they also announced that first-party Xbox games will start launching at $80 later this year and just like Nintendo, this price has nothing to do with tariffs. Yes, eighty. U.S. dollars. For games. You can’t eat them. They don’t heat your house. They just sit there and ask you to install a 97 GB patch before you even hit “New Game.”
While the tariff stuff continues to hurt our wallets like an abusive ex, the price of games for the consoles you may already have, are jumping in price just to swing back around and hurt you some more. Not because the quality of games has gotten better. Not because there is some groundbreaking new technology that has shattered the game development ceiling. But because Nintendo f*cking hates your guts but loves your money.
Yes, Nintendo, those filthy, greedy, mushroom-stompers kicked off this price-hike bonanza by quietly launching its $80 pricing structure with games like Mario Kart World and Kirby and the Forgotten Land. Nintendo even claimed these game-specific price tags were decided before the tariffs. Because nothing says “we respect consumer loyalty” like increasing prices for no reason other than corporate greed. Seriously, we can’t give a middle finger big enough to shove in the faces of Nintendo for pulling this off.
And now Microsoft’s pulling the same move, as they raise their prices with the enthusiasm of a kid copying homework they didn’t understand. The funny thing is, has Microsoft done anything decent with any of their games this console generation? Halo? Flop. Starfield? Flop. Redfall? Flop. Hi-Fi Rush? A total smash hit! But Microsoft turned around and shut down the studio that made it. What about Gears of War? We haven’t heard from you in a while, Marcus Fenix. Are you waiting in the shadows to re-release as a remaster for $80? You are, aren’t you? You sneaky little COG bastard.
Of course, we would be remiss not to mention that, now, more than ever, Xbox GamePass is likely to be everyone’s best bet to avoid at least some of this bullshit a little bit. But, we would also bet our asses that prices for that service will be going up, too. You can count on that. And they likely won’t put their $80 games immediately up there, either. You can count on that, too.
And to make things even more bleak, the other gaming industry villains — EA, Activision, you know the names — are all no doubt waiting in the wings, just itching to also say they too will also be increasing the price of their games due to “rising development costs” while simultaneously adding nothing to the gameplay experience while doing backflips into a swimming pool of gold coins.
But what about Sony? What are they doing amidst all this? Oh, they’re suspiciously quiet. But if you think they won’t hike their game prices from $70 to $80 the moment they smell blood in the water (we are basically Sam Jackson in Deep Blue Sea at this point), then you are lying to yourself.
Keep in mind we’re halfway through the PS5’s life cycle, for example, and all we’ve got are overpriced remasters with negligible performance results, a bunch of DLC with “director’s cut” slapped on the box, and a next-gen rumor mill that says the PS6 is coming in 2027. Which, cool, I guess? Just as long as we don’t have to sell a kidney for it. News Flash! We will. And probably a few other appendages we need, to boot.
Meanwhile, Nintendo’s out here with their Goomba’s out, still charging full price for Breath of the Wild. In 2025. Let’s go over why this sucks so much if you want to play it on the Switch 2. First, you have to pay $60 for a Switch 1 copy of the game, then add $10 more to get it optimize for Switch 2 hardware to take advantage of “performance enhancements”, then add another $20 for the DLC (because none of that is included). This brings the total for the entire Breath of the Wild Switch 2 package to over $90. For a game that came out eight years ago. Jesus. F*cking. Christ. And that’s just in the US! The game costs more than that in almost every other region in the world.
Bringing this back around, yes, Microsoft’s latest move makes them look like the kid who didn’t get invited to the party and decided to burn down the whole block in protest. But the real villain here is Nintendo, who not only supplied the fuse and the match, but also whispered in everyone’s ears that just because they can, they should. Meanwhile Microsoft is just bringing their own gasoline. And you just know every other major gaming industry leader is filling their tanks up as you read this.
And for the rest of us? We’re stuck watching our hobby become a luxury cruise we can’t afford to board. Tariffs, greed, inflation, and an industry allergic to shame — it’s the perfect storm. And gamers are the ones getting soaked. Seriously, f*ck Nintendo.
