{"id":672,"date":"2025-05-04T14:00:00","date_gmt":"2025-05-04T14:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/poderemercado.com.br\/?p=672"},"modified":"2025-05-03T14:56:34","modified_gmt":"2025-05-03T14:56:34","slug":"deu-a-logica-microsoft-aumenta-precos-e-confirma-o-que-ja-dissemos","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/poderemercado.com.br\/en\/deu-a-logica-microsoft-aumenta-precos-e-confirma-o-que-ja-dissemos\/","title":{"rendered":"Logic prevails: Microsoft raises prices and confirms what we already said"},"content":{"rendered":"<p><strong>It&#039;s not Microsoft&#039;s fault. It&#039;s the State&#039;s fault that destroys your purchasing power.<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The discharge is a symptom. The disease is in the model.<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>When Microsoft announced a price increase for Xbox consoles and games, many rushed to blame the market, the dollar or even the companies themselves. But this post shows why the real villain is the State \u2014 which, with its interventionism and monetary destruction, turns even digital leisure into a luxury item in Brazil.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>We had already warned in the post <a href=\"https:\/\/poderemercado.com.br\/en\/nintendo-localizacao-de-precos-e-o-verdadeiro-problema-nao-e-o-jogo-e-a-moeda\/\"><strong>\u201cNintendo, price localization and the real problem: it\u2019s not the game, it\u2019s the currency\u201d<\/strong><\/a>, where we explain why the problem isn&#039;t the game \u2014 it&#039;s the currency. Here, the logic repeats itself.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Price increases: another predictable chapter<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>In early May, Microsoft officially announced a price adjustment for its Xbox consoles and games in Brazil. The move follows a pattern already seen with Nintendo and other technology companies, which are facing increasing difficulties operating in a country marked by high taxes, currency instability and an environment hostile to venture capital.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>According to Bloomberg L\u00ednea, the games could reach <strong>R$ 399<\/strong> at launch, and consoles like the Xbox Series X already surpass <strong>R$ 4.000<\/strong> at some retailers <a href=\"https:\/\/www.bloomberglinea.com.br\/negocios\/xbox-mais-caro-microsoft-aumenta-precos-de-jogos-e-cita-custos-de-desenvolvimento\/\">Bloomberg Line<\/a>. Valor Econ\u00f4mico confirms: Microsoft justified the adjustments based on the <strong>global costs and the specific challenges of the Brazilian market<\/strong><a href=\"https:\/\/valor.globo.com\/empresas\/noticia\/2025\/05\/01\/microsoft-aumenta-preos-de-consoles-e-jogos-xbox.ghtml\"> Economic Value<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>But there is no surprise. There is coherence. As we said in the post about Nintendo, it is not the market that makes the product more expensive \u2014 it is the State that makes the country more expensive. See also the post <a href=\"https:\/\/poderemercado.com.br\/en\/game-over-na-liberdade-economica-a-politica-do-atraso-chegou-ao-setor-de-games\/\">\u201cGame Over on Economic Freedom\u201d<\/a>, where we show how even the gaming sector suffers from the interventionist setback.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The Truth Behind Pricing: Intervention, Not Market<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Popular rhetoric tends to blame foreign companies for rising prices. But anyone who knows the basics of economics knows: <strong>final price is the result of a chain of costs and artificial distortions<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Among them:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li>Cascading taxation;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Protectionist import tariffs;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Customs bureaucracy;<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li>Artificial exchange rate and monetary inflation.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>In countries with strong currencies and institutional stability, such as Japan or the US, console launch prices range between <strong>US$ 499 and US$ 599<\/strong> \u2014 similar value for years. In Brazil, the combination of inflation, tariffs and exchange rate weakness converts this same value into more than <strong>R$ 4.000<\/strong>, even with partial exemption from ICMS in some states.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The State as a hidden partner in your consumption<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The logic is clear: for every R$100 spent on an imported product like a video game, <strong>the Brazilian State can take up to R$$ 60 in direct and indirect taxes<\/strong>. Whether through IPI, PIS\/COFINS, ICMS or import taxes, the government acts as a hidden \u2014 and voracious \u2014 partner in each transaction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>There is no greater \u201ccorporate greed\u201d than state fiscal greed. And contrary to what protectionist advocates suggest, <strong>companies do not flee out of selfishness, but because of unfeasibility<\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Weak currency as a driver of impoverishment<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>Even when the nominal price of a game remains stable in dollars, it explodes in reais. This is because the <strong>real is systematically weakened by irresponsible fiscal policies and money printing<\/strong>, as we explained in the post <a href=\"https:\/\/poderemercado.com.br\/en\/enquanto-o-dolar-manda-o-real-obedece-o-problema-e-a-moeda\/\">\u201cWhile the dollar rules, the real obeys\u201d<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>You don&#039;t have to print bills to destroy a currency \u2014 you just have to print deficits.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">When entertainment becomes a privilege<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>The result of all this?<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>A video game console becomes unaffordable for millions. Games released at R$ 400 become luxury items. But the problem is not expensive entertainment \u2014 it is widespread impoverishment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>While the world plays, Brazilians save up to buy a controller.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>And all of this under the false banner of \u201cprotecting national industry\u201d \u2014 which, in practice, protects bureaucrats and corporations connected to power.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Conclusion<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>The price increase announced by Microsoft is just the visible symptom of a deeper economic disease:<\/strong> the Brazilian State intervenes, taxes and destroys the population&#039;s purchasing power \u2014 including in sectors that should be accessible, such as digital entertainment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong>It is not the market that is failing the consumer.<\/strong> It is the State that sabotages the currency, makes products more expensive and disguises its interventionism as \u201cprotection\u201d. The logic of high prices is not corporate. It is state-driven.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\ud83d\udce9 <strong>Do you want to understand how interventionism affects your pocket \u2014 even in your leisure time?<\/strong> Subscribe to the newsletter <strong>Economic Radar<\/strong> and receive our analyses directly in your email.<\/p>","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>O aumento nos pre\u00e7os dos consoles e jogos Xbox no Brasil n\u00e3o \u00e9 culpa das empresas, mas de um Estado intervencionista que destr\u00f3i o poder de compra do consumidor. Este artigo analisa como a tributa\u00e7\u00e3o excessiva, a desvaloriza\u00e7\u00e3o do real e a pol\u00edtica econ\u00f4mica equivocada tornam at\u00e9 o lazer digital inacess\u00edvel para milh\u00f5es de brasileiros.<\/p>","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":675,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"googlesitekit_rrm_CAow55rbCw:productID":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[560,86],"tags":[73,226,95,562,301,561,78,553,340,563],"class_list":["post-672","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-moeda-e-consumo","category-politica-e-economia","tag-inflacao","tag-intervencionismo","tag-livre-mercado","tag-microsoft","tag-politica-fiscal","tag-precos-xbox","tag-protecionismo","tag-radar-economico","tag-real-desvalorizado","tag-setor-de-games"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/poderemercado.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/poderemercado.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/poderemercado.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poderemercado.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poderemercado.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=672"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/poderemercado.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/672\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poderemercado.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/675"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/poderemercado.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=672"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poderemercado.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=672"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/poderemercado.com.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=672"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}