Xbox and PlayStation are two big rivals. They have something in common you might not know about; Sony and Microsoft don’t earn profit with console sales. This might sound weird if we consider that those consoles are selling for millions worldwide, and they’ve priced for hundreds of dollars. The console sales are a complicated strategy for both manufacturers’ finance teams. With Xbox CEO Phil Spencer’s statement today, we now know how much profit Microsoft loses with every console sale. And further, will the consoles get a price hike?
Gaming consoles are cheaper compared to gaming PCs. They’re strong as a mid-range computer, and their performance gets even better with optimizations. You might also wonder if the manufacturers lose money with the sales, how do they get profits? Here are the answers.
Phil Spencer Says Microsoft Loses Money With Every Sold Xbox
Phil Spencer had an interview with CNBC about the gaming industry’s economic situation. Alongside his words about how entertainment companies get weak, he mentioned about console prices. According to his statement, Xbox loses 100$ with every Xbox Series X sale and $200 with the Xbox Series X sale. This might get even higher with the Xbox Cloud Console, which is in the development process. The consoles might not be cheap for gamers, but it’s also not a good way to get profits for the companies.
The loss is inevitable, but it also should be minimal. Probably, the loss was less when they started selling the consoles, but it grew with time. Phil Spencer didn’t talk clearly, but we might expect a price hike for the Xbox in the future. After the price hike for PlayStation consoles, Xbox announced that they don’t plan the same in the near future. But things might get changed, so don’t wait too long if you want to get an Xbox at a good price.
Xbox and PlayStation are getting profits with the accessories sale and their cuts from the developers. Both companies get cuts from the developers for every game sold on Microsoft Store, and there are other chargers to release and keep the games on the platform. You might think that the consoles are cheap, but probably you’ll be paying the rest of the profit with your purchases.
