Some people are always fascinated by video games, and why not? Technology has provided us with some of the best entertainment sources, in which gaming is among the top rank holders. In particular, youth are fascinated by the action sounds, the strategy building, and all the mind work that is required in today’s games. And keep in mind some more things are required for access to such games, and that is money. The best games come with a huge investment, and the device is also required for better and smoother gameplay, such as on Xbox, and that comes with a huge investment. Let us know “Why Are Xbox Controllers So Expensive?”
Why Are Xbox Controllers So Expensive? answer
Let us dig into Why Are Xbox Controllers So Expensive?, Xbox is a renowned brand when referring to gaming. They have proved to be one of the best with their product quality and features, but if looking at the prices of these advanced gadgets, they can leave people crunching their pockets because their prices are comparatively higher in the market. There are multiple reasons for that, such as:
- Material used
- Design
- Technology
- High demand
- Battery life
- Customization options are available.
- Features
Some more things contributed to the Xbox controller increasing the price of these gadgets. Understanding these, in brief, will help clear some more doubts.
Reasons for Xbox’s high prices
When comparing the Xbox controller with the available substitute and the products offered by its competitor, there is a noticeable gap in the prices. The reason behind the price gap is as follows:
Material used
Gaming is a heavy task, and all gamers will agree on this point: during play, there can be times when aggression comes in and the controller becomes the victim of that aggression. So, it becomes essential that the building material that is used in the controller is strong and can withstand strongholds.
Xbox understands its customers and that is the reason they use top-class materials in its products, which cannot be broken easily. The grips used are made up of fine material, and when any business is using the best material in its products, then the product price ought to be expensive.
Design
Gaming is a fashionable as well as a technology-driven market in which the latest designs features and fancy looks are what make the products and pro gamers stand alone. Xbox knows this very well and that is the reason they come with some of the latest and trending designs to attract more customer base.
Xbox has a workforce whose main work is to work on the latest design to make their product handy and more comfortable. Business houses know that design is creative work, and hiring such people incurs a cost, and at last, all such costs are added to the product.
Technology advancement
Technology advancement plays an important role in determining the price of these controllers because there are always changes coming in the gaming industry that require a faster response rate or trigger action buttons, and for that, continuous improvement takes place in the controllers, which incurs a huge cost because, with technology, design, production, and all such things are related.
For instance, while earlier some controllers were connected to the gaming setup, now there are some wireless controllers as well. Bluetooth connectivity has become important, so these changes come with innovation and require huge investments.
Demand in the market
The market runs on demand and supply policy and all people have studied this in theory and practical life also. It is the same. When the demand for any product rises in the market and supply cannot meet the rising demand, the price of the product rises. People playing video games are rising every day, and so is the demand for these controllers.
Post lockdown, things have changed for these businesses as well, because they were shut for a long period, and during this time, the demand for the controller rose to the next level. People were locked in their homes and gaming gave an escape from daily life, so to meet the market demand, companies raised their product prices.
Battery life
After the invention of Bluetooth and wireless controllers’ batteries became an essential aspect of these, when looking at the controllers available in the market, many of them provide 10 hours or 25 hours of playtime experience after a charge, which is no doubt a good time frame, but with comparison to the Xbox wireless controller, which offers a playtime of 35+ hours after full charge, it is very much promising.
Having a controller with a large capacity has many benefits, but the manufacturing costs of this rise because the design unit has to fit a high-capacity battery in a compact design, which eventually raises the price of the product.
Competition in the market
The competition also plays an important role in determining the prices of these controllers because there are market leaders such as Sony, Dolby, and all such business houses that are in the production line of these controllers. They give their products at promising rates, but when looking into the Xbox, with their additional features and various options that are available in their product, they stand out from the group.
It becomes important to increase the price if there is little competition in terms of design and other aspects because it gives the customer the feeling that they are using a luxury product, and this strategy is used by many large organizations and businesses to increase sales. This is one of the major reasons that Xbox controller prices are comparatively higher than their substitutes.
Customization and additional features
Aside from that, they have many customization options in terms of colors, specifications, and even some extra features that customers can only get with the Xbox controller.
With Xbox, customers can get an extra joystick, even some of the devices have special and customized grips, come in versatile colors, and have many other additional buttons. With wireless options in the market, businesses get many spaces to customize and add special features such as air triggers, and extra options and all such are used by Xbox.
Such as Xbox elite controllers, which come with many additional triggers, action buttons, adjustable grips, and many fancy features, are sold in large quantities irrespective of their high prices.
The additional benefits from the other options make it unique and more costly than other available options.
Features
As discussed earlier, the Xbox has some additional features which are not available in many of the other available options for controllers in the market. And it is available in all the lines, such as Xbox has some baseline products which are easily available and do not have much-upgraded models or features. Then some of the products offered are in the medium range, which can also be easily found and come with some additional features from the base version product.
Then they have some of the products which are of high quality, such as their elite section, which has some of the best product lines in the controller with many advanced designs and additional features such as a joystick, action button, better grip, customizable grip, and elegant designs.
Xbox also has anniversary special and limited-edition products that cannot be easily found in the market. They are theme-based, they have some additional features, and their prices are very much higher than the baseline.
So, Xbox sells its products based on features, and the prices also vary depending upon the features the customer chooses.
It is simple to set up and use
This is not very much different from the other available controllers in the market, but they do have some additional benefits and options which can help any new person in setting up and using their product. They have a USB port as well as a built-in wire option, for example. They offer Bluetooth connectivity, and according to recent updates, Xbox is also working on connectivity through the same Wi-Fi.
Xbox has always tried to make the customer experience smooth and hassle-free while using their products, and this has also become a reason for their products being more expensive than others.
A wide range is available
It is not fully true that Xbox products are much more expensive than their available substitutes. Their prices start at $30 and, based on the customization and choice of the product, can go up to $250+. The Xbox baseline is the same as that of many other businesses; their special products such as anniversary special and limited edition launches or the elite line-up products are comparatively higher in price than the normal ones available.
Conclusion
Now we have learnt “Why Are Xbox Controllers So Expensive?”, Xbox is a gaming accessories company that offers many products to make the user experience smooth and hassle-free. In their product line, a controller is also an option available; they offer a wide range of controllers which have many features, and they always try to make their products better by adopting some of the latest designs and adopting some of latest technologies. The features available make them stand alone in the market, and because they have such high demand, the prices of the Xbox controller are comparatively higher than others.
