Sam's Club appears to be selling off its stock of Xbox Series X/S consoles. This is just the latest retailer to be selling off the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S systems at a significant discount.
Some Xbox gamers have been frustrated with the family of consoles recently due to decisions made by Xbox leadership. In addition to the price increase for Xbox Game Pass, the price of Xbox Series X/S consoles recently went up, and those who already own the systems have recently reported that ads are appearing on their home screens after unsubscribing from Game Pass. While it's mostly gamers voicing frustration, something seems to be shifting with how retailers are viewing the Microsoft consoles, as well.
People Canceling Their Xbox Game Pass Subscriptions Are Getting Hit With Ads
Xbox users report seeing ads for Xbox Game Pass on their console home screens almost immediately after canceling their subscriptions amid price hikes.
Another Retailer Sells off Xbox Stock
Sam's Club, a membership big box retailer, has begun clearing Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles out at a discount. While it's not clear if this is a nationwide trend, photos and reports of consoles on clearance have been making waves. One store appears to have discounted the Xbox Series X 1TB digital console from $499 to just under $280. Another shows the Xbox Series S 512 GB version discounted to $239, while another photo shows the same system cut down to a surprisingly low $179, down from the original $329.
The Sam's Club discounts are actually even steeper than they initially appear, due to the recent price increases of Xbox Series consoles. Starting on October 3, Xbox updated its recommended retailer pricing, with the cost of the Xbox Series X Digital increasing to $599.99, and the Xbox Series S 512 GB increasing to $399.99. At the cheapest price available through Sam's Club, a buyer could get two Xbox Series S 512GB systems for less than what they would normally pay for a single one.
Curiously, Sam's Club seems to be following in Costco's footsteps with this move. After Xbox consoles disappeared from the Costco website, the retailer confirmed that it was selling off its remaining stock, and would not be getting more Xboxes. No official explanation has been offered for these systems being discontinued aside from it being a business decision, but many fans are speculating that the consoles aren't selling well for the retailers. Even former Blizzard lead Mike Ybarra went so far as to call the Xbox family of consoles dead. Still, Microsoft is still moving forward with its next-gen Xbox console plans, so for the foreseeable future, the Xbox brand isn't going anywhere.
- Brand
- Microsoft
- Original Release Date
- November 10, 2020
- Original MSRP (USD)
- $499
- Operating System
- Proprietary (Windows-based)
- Processor
- Custom AMD 8-core Zen 2 3.8 GHz
- Resolution
- 720p - 4K UHD
Source: Twitter