It has been almost 19 years since the Xbox 360 was launched as the successor to the original Xbox in late 2005. The production of the last consoles, which have been succeeded by the Xbox One and the Xbox Series X/S since then, was discontinued nine years ago. Thanks to Xbox Cloud Streaming, it is now possible to play games for these consoles on the PC without needing an Xbox.
One might assume that apart from a few hardcore fans, no one is interested in Xbox 360 games anymore, considering they are just as old and have often received sequels by now. However, there has been a noticeable increase in the prices of Xbox 360 games recently – so how did this happen?
The demand determines the price, and it is the increased demand that has led to physical copies of titles like Call of Duty 2 and Tomb Raider: Legend significantly increasing in price.
In August 2023, Microsoft announced that it would be shutting down the digital Xbox 360 store by the end of July 2024. The closure is imminent, and Xbox 360 fans are adopting two different tactics: some are taking advantage of the closing sales to digitally secure all the games they want to keep playing in the future, while others prefer the security of owning a physical copy of the games to ensure they can play their favorite games forever.
It is this tactic that has been driving up the prices of these games, some of which are up to 19 years old, as analyzed by thegamer.com.
Interestingly, the average price per game has increased by 14 percent in the past twelve months, but not all games have become more expensive. Games like Crackdown, Lego Star Wars: The Complete Saga, Red Dead Redemption, Saints Row 2, and SoulCalibur 4 have actually become cheaper during the same period, but they are the exception.
While the availability of a game on the Xbox Game Pass did not seem to have an impact on price changes, the existence of versions for the PlayStation 3 did. Games that are also available for the PS3 only saw an average price increase of four percent, indicating that the demand for these games has not significantly increased.
It is understandable that Xbox 360 gamers would want to have their favorite games in a well-stocked games shelf before the source for digital purchases runs dry in a few days. After all, with a digital library, there is always a risk of losing everything in case of a hard drive failure.
In conclusion, the prices of Xbox 360 games have been on the rise due to the imminent closure of the digital Xbox 360 store, leading to increased demand for physical copies of these classic games. As collectors and fans scramble to secure their favorite titles, the market dynamics are shifting, resulting in some games becoming more expensive while others see a decrease in price.