Microsoft and Nintendo have reassured consumers that the prices of their consoles will not see a price rise.
Sony announced that their PlayStation 5 console will see a price rise, which has caused industry pundits speculate if this will cause Sony to blow their advantage in the current console generation.
The disc drive version of the console was €499.99 at launch in 2020, but the console will now retail at €549.99.
The disc-free console, which used to retail for €399.99, will now retail at €449.99.
Both Microsoft and Nintendo have issued statements saying that they do not plan to raise the prices of their consoles.
Over at camp Microsoft, the €299.99 retail price for the Xbox Series S and the €499.99 retail price for the Xbox Series X remains unchanged.
A statement from Microsoft to Kotaku read "We are constantly evaluating our business to offer our fans great gaming options. Our Xbox Series S suggested retail price remains at $299 and the Xbox Series X is $499. This also applies to other markets and their current pricing."
For gamers who want to get their hands on the Nintendo Switch, which launched in 2017 and saw an updated OLED screen released last year, the price will remain unchanged.
Nintendo president Shuntaro Furukawa told Nikkei earlier this year "We always think about pricing in terms of the value of the fun we offer - Nintendo has sold more than 100 million Switch units so far, and it’s important to maintain the momentum of our overall business."
Nintendo are keeping mum on a successor to the Switch console, with analysts predicting we may not see a new Nintendo console until 2024 or possibly 2025.
The Switch has put Nintendo back on top after the failure of the Wii U, and are keen to sell as many consoles as possible before focusing their attention on new hardware.
Pricing can have a major effect on how a console generation plays out, with industry pundits noting that Sony makes a loss on the disc-free version of the PlayStation 5 and can only recoup costs on sales of the disc-based version.
