Yep, everyone expected the economy to slow down as interest rates continue to rise… But Americans are still spending like crazy, so why not spike the price?
Prices in Brazil are much higher compared to the US. Once you convert that new price of R$3,599 to USD you’re looking at $721. Prices are just higher in Brazil because reasons.
That feels like the physical version of how most publishers treat Steam regional pricing suggestions here, and I imagine in a lot of other developing countries.
For reference, the suggested equivalent of 60 USD was something close to 180 BRL last I checked but you’d be hard pressed to find an actual AAA game for less than 250~300 BRL. Not coincidentally, that’s also in the neighborhood of a straight USD to BRL conversion at the usual rates.
That’s not what I’m talking about, Steam’s recommended prices don’t follow exchange rates because they actually try to take every country’s economic reality into account.
See here, the latest suggested conversion for 60 USD is actually 162 BRL which honestly is pretty reasonable.
For a while now regional pricing here has been nothing more than a suggestion at best. And then they wonder why piracy is so rampant around these parts…
The Xbox Series X/S consoles are sold at a loss of up to $200 per console[1][2][3][5].
Microsoft subsidizes the sale of each console because it expects to make this back through game sales and subscriptions to Xbox Game Pass[1][2][3][5]. This is a common business practice in the gaming industry, as companies often sell consoles at a loss and recoup the money elsewhere, such as from software sales and subscriptions[2][4][5].
The loss is not because the hardware costs more than the retail, but because of the R&D costs and the forecasted sales[6]. Microsoft has never earned a profit from selling Xbox consoles, including the Xbox One, 360, and the original console[4].
I mean, that changes nothing about them now charging significantly more for a market where nothing has changed.
Also if they wanted to shift and be like ‘sold at true hardware price’ then they should stop charging for things like Xbox Live or taking such a cut from the developers for the ‘privilege’ of running on their console.
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