Last week, we shared the report that the Xbox Series X and Series S had outsold the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch in March 2022 in the UK, and now we've got more insight on this courtesy of GamesIndustry.biz.
The outlet says that over 112,000 consoles were sold in the UK in March, which was a rise of 21% over February, but console sales in 2022 are still down 46% overall due to stock issues. Xbox Series X and S sales were up a whopping 61% in March thanks to more Series X supplies, while PlayStation 5 sales were up 45% and Nintendo Switch sales actually dropped by 21%. Even so, the Switch was the second best-selling console of March.
As mentioned above, Xbox also had a lot of success in the accessories department, with the standard Carbon Black Wireless Controller being the most popular accessory of the month. The Robot White variant was in second place, the PS5 DualSense was in third, the PowerA Xbox Controller (Black) was fourth, and the Ear Force Recon 50X Headset from Turtle Beach was fifth. It's said that around 700,000 accessories were sold during the month.
And what about games? Well, Elden Ring was understandably the best-selling title of the month, Sony's Gran Turismo 7 was in second, and Grand Theft Auto V came in third. WWE 2K22 enjoyed a very good start as well (coming in fifth), with 41% of sales on Xbox consoles, while Tiny Tina's Wonderlands debuted in sixth and secured a 50/50 split in terms of sales between Xbox and PlayStation.
"Elden Ring was the No.1 game once again. This is mostly due to very strong digital sales. Gran Turismo 7 was the biggest physical game of the month. A big winner? WWE 2K22. Its first four week sales are up 164% compared with WWE 2K19."
Happy to see Xbox having such a strong month? Let us know down in the comments section below.
[source gamesindustry.biz]
Comments 28
All these sales for a 'box' that no-one actually 'needs' to play Xbox games - after all, they are all available on PC (and/or streamable to last gen, mobiles, tablets etc).
That just shows that if you have the 'right' ecosystem, people will want to be a part of it and MS gives you multiple choices - of which the Consoles are just a few options. The fact the consoles, that's both the Series S and Series X, are selling well is testament to the MS ecosystem they have built and that choice.
You don't 'need' to spend £450 on the Series X, you can buy a Series S to be part of the ecosystem for a lot less. You could use you mobile/tablet or Laptop/PC - most people these days have access to at least 1 of these so don't need to spend money at all. The fact they are is testament to the ecosystem and direction MS seem to be going...
The UK I think is Xbox second biggest single sales area after the USA, the Xbox 360 did very well in the UK.
They just need to keep supply of the Series X up and push out some big hitting AAA games and they should be on some good momentum.
I have noticed supply has run dry of Series X again this week.
I was one of the people jumping on the Xbox bandwagon in March after being a lifelong Nintendo loyalist. Xbox is great at supporting older games, which is something that Nintendo and PlayStation are not so good at. Having a lot fun playing Elden Ring with the Xbox controller on the Series X.
Xbox is slowly but surely returning in the EU. More and more friends around me are buying an Xbox again after only owning PS4 consoles last gen. 360 days may come back if everything is going smoothly from here on out.
This is only because Xbox has more stock than PlayStation. If there was equal stock then it wouldn't even be close, it would be the King PlayStation.
@Medic_Alert 😈
Great, I bought series s for playing gamepass games but I like it and replace it with series x. And bought robot white gamepad because the black one is really boring, I wish xbox has series x white version.
Feel like this is reiterating the news from a few days ago, but that's still cool. Sony absolutely needs competition. MS and Nintendo have given them just that.
@Medic_Alert I do believe that to be the reason though yeah. I did it myself back in the day with the Xbox 360 and PS3. I bought the 360 because I didn't want to wait for the PS3 to come out, I just wanted the next gen console now. If both were released at the same time then I wouldn't of got the 360 and got the PS3 instead.
I think that's the case now, people don't want to wait for PS5 stock and are just getting the Series X because it's right here right now. People just want the current gen now.
@Snake_V5 I think those that want a ps5 but are getting the xbox series X/S instead is because they are too impatient to wait for the ps5 stock and are mainly casual gamers who just want the third party games like fifa and call of duty, but those gamers who enjoy sonys first party games and JRPG's will be waiting specifically for the ps5 stock and those who like xbox games will wait specifically for the Xbox stock.
Basically the casuals will get what ever they can find in stock
And that's the issue with this gen, basically 90% of gamers are casuals and don't care if its an xbox or playstation they get, they will get what they can find, meaning this whole gen will rely on stock to see who sells the most consoles, not by popularity, not by who has the best console or best exclusives or best subscription service etc etc but down to who's in stock....
@uptownsoul yes those who want an xbox because they like xbox and its exclusives, but for those who don't really care for exclusives and just want the big third party releases will get whatever console they can find in stock.
There's a lot of people who just want to say they own a next gen console or just want shinier looking games over last gen version, plus parents buying for their kids as they want to look cool at school playing fortnite on a next gen console will also get whatever they can find in stock.
I know people who have either bought a ps5 or series X and all they play is fifa and the new wrestling game and watch Netflix all night on it, so for some people it's not about playing exclusives it's just down to their "need" to have a new console.
@uptownsoul so those 17 million playstation 5 owners have all played Returnal and demon souls and destruction all stars (the only non cross gen exclusives) I bet those games combined haven't sold more than 10 million, so your theory that people only buy new gen consoles for next gen games is wrong. Casuals buy the newest consoles as they are the latest fad and want to keep up, just like upgrading phones that have marginal difference but willing to pay top dollar just to keep with the trend.
Its only around 10-15% of gamers that actually care about next gen exclusives and looking at previous playstation and xbox exclusive games sales will tell you that the vast majority don't care about exclusive games, they care about third party games and don't care what machine they play it on, the ps4/xbox one gen was a one off because Microsoft screwed up the launch and playstation ran away with it at the beginning and everyone was wanting what everyone else had (the ps4), look at the ps3/360 gen which was neck and neck, that's because they both had strong launches, constant stock, great exclusive games and great marketing, something xbox lacked during the next gen hence the only reason ps4 ran away with it
Also the ps4 would of sold out if it had chip shortages like the ps5 has, the ps4 and xbox one had more stock than demand.
I was a PlayStation person but with Microsoft rewards paying for my gamepass and half the price of the series X console its become too good a deal to pass up .
I will get a PS5 near the end of the generation to play the exclusives on
@uptownsoul not if playstation and xbox had more consoles a available than there was casuals who wanted it at launch, for all we know 80-90% of people who bought the ps4/xbox1 at launch were casuals?
I'm not saying all the PlayStation 5 and xbox series X/S sales have been by casuals, just a good percent of them, like 50-60% of them.
@Medic_Alert
What a reply to Snake, that’s an impressive
Got ya, reply. Well put.
@Rural-Bandit I never said that everyone else should pick PlayStation because I have. I own both PS5 and Series X, it's only the Nintendo Switch I don't have. I won't lie though and say I don't prefer PlayStation because I do, always have.
@Medic_Alert To be fair I do know a few people who picked up a Series X or a Series S simply because they couldn't get a PS5 here in the UK. I recommended XSS + Game Pass to a few PS4 owners.
And like @Snake_V5 I bought a X360 instead of the PS3 I was saving for after seeing Gears of War.
I think many gamers aren't as tied to one platform as others think. 85+% of the games come out on both and many popular multiplayer games are cross-platform nowadays.
@themightyant I'm in the same category as well, I got my series S February 2021 and my ps5 in September 2021, but if they had the ps5 in stock the day I got my series S then I would of chose that instead.
This stock situation isn't giving people much choice, especially the casuals, it's get what ever they can get their hands on. Then later on when stock is normal they well either pick up the other console as well or trade in the console they got first for their preferred one
@Rural-Bandit I agree with you, it's all good. I just need to get a Switch 😈
I usually get both - Start with Xbox then get a ps5 after a year o so. However this time around I am very happy with my series x just need a decent tv to play it on. LG C1?
@Medic_Alert As usual I think it's nuanced and complex with lots of different views. I personally know a few people who were waiting for a PS5 but gave up and got an Xbox. Mostly Series S', though I helped one get a Series X by alerting him to stock. They did that because, from their perspective, PS5 was out of stock for over a year. At some point they did get bored, gave up and decided to embrace next gen now, it wasn't sudden, it was a long arduous wait.
Of course that's only one portion of gamers. Many are entrenched and won't shift easily if at all. I see it a bit like politics. You've get those who always vote left, regardless of who it is or what they say, some who will only vote right and some who can be swayed either way based on current status/issues. Room for lots of stances.
I agree Xbox, or more specifically Game Pass, is currently the better deal and for anyone without heavy ties that has been my recommendation. But for many brand loyalty is strong and it takes a while to fade, Sony are still riding this wave and while Microsoft may be making them look bad they still have an excellent product. Plus a lot of people have libraries on PSN or XBox or friends they don't want to abandon.
@Rural-Bandit Would you recommend the original Switch? I definitely want to be able to have handheld and TV too.
Some Sony fanboys say that PS5 is selling twice as much as Series X/S but it's just not true. PS5 shipped 13.4 million as of September 30, 2021 and Series X/S shipped over 12 million as of January 11, 2022 (all figures are worldwide). This generation is going to be more like Xbox 360/PS3 and that's very impressive considering that Sony is outside the PC business except for specific delayed ports and that Sony doesn't have a proper Game Pass/Cloud alternative to PS5. Besides, the Series S strategy is working very well in underdeveloped countries and for the first time the Japanese know what an Xbox is. All in all, this generation is working far better for Xbox than what we could imagine.
Also, Nintendo Switch hit 107 Million and Counting units sold! Very close to outselling the ps4 (116 million).
I'm also enjoying my Xbox Series S!! I have no need for a ps5.
@Banjo- Also, Sony tried to keep the dead ps4 alive to compete with the Better Xbox Series S, but it's not working at all! Hardly any one is buying ps4s anymore. Sony screwed up with this one. Time for Microsoft and Nintendo to SHINE!! ❤💚
@Snake_V5 I HIGHLY recommend Nintendo Switch OLED!!! INCREDIBLE!
@NintendoEternity True. They did the same against Xbox 360 to overtake it at the last minute with cheap PS3 revisions after the generation was over.
@UltimateOtaku91 you’re completely wrong!! Majority of Playstation gamers say they are so because of the exclusives. Playstation exclusives are on another level from all other games. That’s why Playstation always massively outsells Xbox both console and game sales. The PS3/360 gen was close but the 360 had a head start over the PS3. The 360 came outh 18 month before PS3.
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