Xbox Series S Price Drop In Japan Was Not Related To The PS5, Says Phil Spencer

The launch of the next generation consoles will be sweeping the global with Microsoft launching both of their Xbox consoles worldwide on the same day while Sony’s PS5 will be staggered by about a week, but by November 19th, anyone and everyone will have a next gen console on their shelf (if you can get one, anyway). But not all regions are the same, and as most people know, Microsoft has always struggled in Japan, and a recent development there has raised some eyebrows.

If you aren’t aware, the price of the Xbox Series S, the system Microsoft is primarily using to market in the region (the new Japanese mascot is even modeled after it) saw a sudden price drop, going from 32,980 yen to 29,980 yen. It was rumored the move was made in response to the PS5’s pre-orders, but Xbox Head Phil Spencer spoke with Weekly Famitsu about the incident and denied that was the case. He said it was more of an issue with the exchange rates as well as listening to the customer base they do have in Japan. Take it as you will. Big thanks to Twinfinite for translations.

It was said that the pre-orders for both the Series X and Series S sold out in Japan, but we have no idea what those numbers actually are. Either way, both systems are set to launch on November 10th everywhere at whatever price its set to in your region.