Xbox fans woke up to some troubling news on Friday, as Microsoft announced its Xbox Live Gold will now cost $120 a year, doubling the previous price of $60. It's the first time Microsoft has raised the price of Xbox Live Gold in over a decade and it's left many Xbox fans in a state of delirium. The price hike comes at an extremely poor time and will do nothing but hurt Microsoft and the Xbox brand if Gold doesn't have more to offer.
Microsoft can't seem to keep up with Sony and its powerful PlayStation consoles. The PlayStation 4 outsold the Xbox One by more than double and it looks like the PS5 is on track to do the same. Doubling the price Xbox Live Gold when the company continues falling behind its competitors doesn't seem like the best business strategy, especially when PlayStation Plus is half the price. If Microsoft isn't careful, some Xbox fans might jump ship to rival consoles.
Raising the price of a service is one thing, but doubling it in the middle of a global pandemic seems ill-timed. Many video game fans are feeling the effects of the lockdowns and are struggling to make ends meet. Blindsiding the audience with an incredible price hike after they've struggled through months of financial uncertainty is in extremely poor taste and may cause some of the most devout Xbox supporters to grow disdain for the brand.
If anything, the price hike will push more gamers towards rival consoles. Video game fans are already having to shell out more money for next-gen games (now $70 full price), leaving many agitated and disgruntled. Rasing Xbox Live Gold's price puts even more of a financial burden on gamers after one of the most catastrophic times in modern history. Doubling Xbox Live Gold while the industry simultaneously raises the price of video games is absurd and can tarnish Microsoft's image indefinitely if the company isn't careful.
Many Xbox Series X owners will need to buy a Seagate storage expansion card if they plan on having a large video game library. These expansion cards don't run cheap and can cost over $200 on average. Combine that with the $120 Xbox Live Gold membership and the new $70 video game price tag, gamers will be spending nearly $400 after buying the Xbox Series X -- and that's if they only want to purchase a single game.
The video game industry is now a frontrunner of entertainment. It's bigger than the movie and sports industries combined and is expected to have made over $179.7 billion in 2020 alone. With the industry experiencing unfathomable growth and success, why double the price of Xbox Live Gold? Raising prices after one of the most successful years the industry has ever seen doesn't sit well with the community.
Microsoft might end up shooting itself in the foot if it continues implementing controversial business practices. While raising Xbox Live Gold's yearly subscription from $60 to $120 might look more profitable on paper, it could drive people away from the service. Sony has yet to raise the PlayStation Plus price, giving it a substantial leg up on the competition. As more gamers transition to next-gen consoles, it will be interesting to see if the price hike for this service plays a role in overall sales. If Microsoft wants to overtake Sony this console generation, it might want to reconsider.
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