Xbox Series X|S Console Sales Estimated At Under Half Of PS5 In New Report

Doesn't help my bank balance either way!

These numbers wont change now that they started porting games to Playstation.

Gee I wonder why Xbox sales started strong and basically died over the last 12 months.

12 months...

• where Xbox spent hours on court talking g about how bad shape their console business is in and how they've already lost.
• Releasing their exclusive games on rival platforms.
• messing around with the platforms services
• failed at releasing consistent games (both ont terms of quality and releases).
• where series S keeps generating "holding back" headlines.
• not competing with Sony has it secures third party, after third party exclusive.

A complete mystery.

*note I am a big Xbox fan I want all the companies to be strong so they make better games and compete to give us the best offers so we don't get more PS5 Pro pricing.

Surprised it's as much as that.
Massive damage done to the brand at launch of Xbox One; kinect and can't resell games.
Happy to be in a position to have both 'main consoles' since PS2 Xbox era.

@TheOldHunter4K I don’t think it’s all because of mistakes made last generation, they’ve made plenty this gen, like spending half the generation buying publishers talking sh** about your own platform so it gets approved and then suddenly deciding every game isn’t exclusive anymore…

Originally I thought Xbox was going to give it a good go like the 360 days, when the series x got announced. Especially with some new studios and game pass.
But after the first two years you knew it was
PS4 vs Xbox one outcome all over again.
And of course it’s totally different now.

But in UK/Europe the advertising and games just weren’t there and also there was nothing to shift the PS4 people over to series consoles.

Console wise Xbox is dead to me and I have moved on and I have had every Xbox since day one. But that’s it now as the games are coming to the other consoles.

My next purchase will be maybe PS5 Pro and maybe Switch 2. No more Xbox I’m afraid.

I am surprised to find that the Xbox has reached around 45% of the number of sales that the PS5 has had. After all, we were lead to believe that the figures were actually worse.

The rumours were that for every Xbox sold, 3 PS5'were sold. However, it seems that it is not quite as bad as that as now it would appear that for every Xbox sold, only 2.2 PlayStations are bought! 😜

Yeah, whatever way you paint those figures, they're not great. At least Xbox has a whole bunch of exclusives to entice people into buying an Xbox console. Oh! Wait...

As far as the numbers go, I would be far more interested to see how many Series S consoles sold in comparison to the X. If it was a lot more, and it probably is, I would wonder if this would not be followed on to another generation as it has certainly given developers a headache trying to get some games to work on the console when all the games that have suffered would have worked in the series x with zero problems by comparison.

Selling nearly 30 Million consoles in less than 4 years is nothing to sniff at, especially when all the games are available on PC day one so there a basically no exclusives. 7 million units shipped in just over a year in what has been a terrible PR year for Xbox is also not too shabby. They have moved beyond the aged metric of most consoles = most profit into where the real money is (Software).

I'm planning on getting a Series X for the rather stunning looking MS Flight Sim 24. (Surprised PX hasn't reported on it yet).

You could well be right, @Bionic-Spencer. I think it entirely possible that Microsoft go the route of a hybrid-handheld (like a Switch) only next generation. One type of console. Not one that competes with the PS6 (or even the PS5 Pro), but one that it probably better than the S or maybe even as good as the X, but in handheld form. Just one Sku, as having two has been very problematic for Xbox this generation...

That's exactly my thinking too, @themightyant. I think by comparison to the launch, sales will have dropped off a cliff edge in recent times...

Would matter if Xbox cared about selling consoles as much as the other companies.
They give PC users Game Pass, so they don't care. Consoles are not where MS' money comes from.

@Fiendish-Beaver I see it the same. I was made to believe the figures were much worse, and this doesn't look quite as bad to me. I expect Sony to shift more consoles, as that's where the focus lies for them, whereas Xbox have left the console war and are focusing on the eco system.

It feels so unreal to see how soft Xbox are these days. No hunger, no aggression. Just an air of directionless reconciliation.

Did Starfield f**k up their plans? Was the lawsuite more damaging to their strategy then we've been let on? Was THIS the plan all along? Slowly get people more attached to their gamepass then to their console...and then down the line try to dominate cloud/subscription gaming?

Who tf knows, something is cooking that's for sure. 🤷‍♂️

Not surprised. They've dug their own grave this past year.

@Lup they have to care.

Majority of the GP members are on console. (If I remember correctly)

And GP has stagnated. Even with the play anywhere. People beyond the more enthusiasts aren’t just signing up.

And that’s not just an Xbox thing. Sony seem to have hit a sub ceiling too.

Not a surprise. Microsoft doesn't care about xbox anymore anyway. Their gaming revenue will be coming from the companies they've acquired. They're nearly ENCOURAGING everyone to play elsewhere. The next Xbox will probably be the last one.

I just converted my Xbox into a Dreamcast machine. This is what my series x has become.

@LuXifer What it seems to be is the Activision purchase was just too much for Microsoft to ignore. Before it was happy to let Xbox do whatever but now It wants that 69 billion paying off ASAP so it strip-mining Xbox to do so. Releasing exclusives on other platforms for "instant cash" and ratcheting up game pass in the hopes of generating more revenue.

Completely unsurprising. One look at the Japanese console sales week after week says it all. Switch and PS5 outsell any XBox by a stupidly huge margin. Heck, Nintendo Life just posted the numbers a little bit ago.

Switch and PS5 sales, even the digital only PS5 which is outsold by the disc version massively, are destroying Xbox there.

MS just isn’t even trying anymore. The only console they can outsell in Japan is the PS4, because almost everyone already HAS one.

Now granted, the Japanese numbers don’t 100% correlate to global sales…but it’s pretty telling all the same.

Owch. I knew it wasn't a great situation for Xbox, but that does make it seem dire. While I'm not surprised Playstation is in the lead, seeing that wide of a margin is concerning.

Sony provided the data and Sony also counts systems that are sitting in stores as units sold. Not suppose to count shipped systems as sold.....

What I don't understand is this gen launched in the pandemic. Basically if you made certain things you could sell all you wanted to make... home gym equipment, bicycles, kayaks, toilet paper... . To basically sell half of what PS5 did really says incompetence...

Entirely agree with your assessment of a downward spiral due to games not coming to the Xbox, @themightyant. I think what we will see is Sony providing more and more games to the Nintendo, and none to the Xbox. They will do this because they will be leveraging Nintendo against the Xbox in order to squeeze Xbox out of existence (in terms of consoles). Once Microsoft no longer produces consoles, then Sony will turn on Nintendo, and cease all games going to that system too. It is a classic Highlander scenario wherein there can be only one, the difference being that when it comes to Nintendo, they are perfectly capable of co-existing with the high-end consoles without directly competing against them...

I would imagine if the Xbox figures were severely underestimated Microsoft would make a statement if not to give the real number, but to say “it’s higher than this.” This makes me inclined to believe it’s roughly around this 28M mark

Game Pass subscribers - As of Feb. 2024 had 34 million.
PS Premium (not PS Plus) - 8 million.

So, there's that. Maybe that should be reported.

The main cause of this in my opinion is they fell behind in the generation where the casual market really bought into digital purchases.

Once they have a library of games built up on ps4, getting them to drop it and swap consoles is going to be a huge challenge.

I'm lucky enough to be in a position to have both boxes, but the majority of sales will come from casual folks who just pick one. They either go where their pals are playing or where all their games are.

Personally, Xbox is the clear winner this gen for me. The backwards compatibility boosts, Starfield, interesting indies on game pass, better looking console, better controller, quick resume. For me, MS first party stuff has always been mediocre (even in the 360 glory days), so I'm not let down by any of those flops. I have no interest in JRPGs and 3rd person cinematic or souls stuff so I'm not even tempted to get a PS5.

But most gamers want those polished AAA cinematic story-driven games, the hot multiplayer exclusives and Japanese stuff so I see why PS5 would be more appealing to the mainstream.

So you're telling me that Sony sells more consoles than Xbox? Who woulda thought, especially since you can play Xbox games on the PC you already have, the phone and tablet you already have, and the streaming stick you likely already have. Who needs a $500 box?

Once they make everything in your library streamable than that will really drop the need to own an Xbox console. The ONLY time I turn on my Xbox is when I want to play a game I can't play on Game Pass or PC, which is currently a total of 12 games in my Xbox library. Once they make these games accessible elsewhere I'll never need to turn on, nevermind buy, an Xbox again.

Besides, having less console sales don't mean you're "losing" a childish "console war". It means one of about 10 metrics isn't up to par. Heck, in 20 years (when I'm 66) I don't think consoles will even exist beyond may e a dedicated streaming stick or box with a logo on it.

@Romans12 two years of GPU cost me 90 USD. Once that ran out, I've sold my Xbox and I'm sure I'm not the only one.. maybe that should be reported?

I played and beat Astro Bot on PS5. Great game. But that controller still hurts my left thumb and just isn’t as comfy as the Xbox controller. But it’s clear the Xbox is shrinking in mindshare on the console front. I would prefer if MS is going to let Sony have the high end market to themselves to release a MS controller for Sony so i can play my PS with a “Xbox” controller. Change out the ABYX for the PS symbols. Change the X home button to a PS logo and for the love of all things gaming get rid of the useless touchpad that makes the controller on PS5 to wide. Then and only then will i buy and play all my games on PS. But yes these numbers are awful and at this point all i want from MS is Gear of War E day and maybe fable if it turns out good.

In general big budget console gaming is a bust this gen. Both Xbox and PS5 have less games, and only a few you can call next gen. Meanwhile a lot of people are asking what is the point of a graphics arms race if it doubles the cost?

If console gaming wants to survive (beyond Nintendo), both Sony and Microsoft need to listen to the consumer and rethink their business plans.

The war is over. Sony PlayStation has become the Apple of the console market. Nintendo aren’t direct competition anymore which has only worked to their benefit and Xbox is hanging on by a thread, threatened not by the other 2 but from Microsoft gaming.

Sony are left to rule the console market, no one should be happy about that and the serious lack of competition they have.

@Fenbops Xbox is far from hanging on by a thread as they still have the subscription market and the cloud market at their disposal. Consoles are merely a small piece of the gaming pie, hence why MA and Sony are trying their best to get into the PC gaming market. Console sales are important, but it doesn't make up but a mere slice of a very large pie.

Who cares? Microsoft is going to do just fine, because after all, most, if not all games are developed on their operating systems. Despite all of the haters and amateur opinionaters out there, Microsoft is in it for the long haul.

Sony on the other hand...has the long term disadvantage.

But hey, if tracking sales day to day, playing corporate exec is your thing, do you!

@abe_hikura PS5 Pro pricing has to do with manufacturing costs still being high since the cough era which saw Chinese and Taiwanese plants reduced for semiconductors. Also one must consider that the pro isn’t going to sell as much as the base. So it won’t be a very high volume production line. Also let us not forgot that there is a 600$ series x coming out. So the Pro is a good deal still especially considering there is millions more transistors on the board. All in all manufacturers aren’t seeing the cost reductions for this generation due to rampant inflation. People can complain about the pro price all they want but it’s a not needed item. Just like one doesn’t need the highest trim for a phone line or a car. The pro pricing is fine IMHO. The base is still available.

TBH, I don’t think that Xbox care or Microsoft. At all. It’s over. Xbox will become Microsoft gaming and that will be that.

I will keep playing Xbox in whatever way I can, whenever I can and I know that Microsoft will make more make more than most gaming publishers.

I just feel sad that they have destroyed Xbox as a hardware company and left fans with memories but also broken dreams.

@GamingSince84 you misunderstand. When I say Xbox is hanging on by a thread, I mean the brand. Microsoft Gaming as it is now known is booming.

@BIG3 exactly. They FINALLY have a solid lineup of games, right when Sony is floundering a bit after going in on GAAS and they start porting to ps. They keep shooting themselves in the foot

@Fenbops I gotcha. In my opinion, Xbox could die today and as long as I can access Game Pass on any number of devices I'm happy with it. It's the content and services offered that matters, not a piece of plastic with a logo on it

@Romans12 And a total number of subs over 47m. Or do we just not mention the bits that upset peoples feelings?

@PsBoxSwitchOwner You are right, GP subs are predominantly console based which is why they need to console to do well. As much as people tout GP-PC as a reason why consoles dont matter, the simple reality is its barely made a dent in what is a much larger market.

exclusives don't matter ammirite

This is certainly a strange predicament.

If Xbox were owned by a different parent company that had made all the same decisions, it would undoubtedly have already exited the console business or be flatlining as we speak. But Microsoft does own Xbox. Yes, that same $3 Trillion Microsoft. They could keep Xbox afloat until the end of time…if they choose to. And that’s the predicament. Sony is not the threat. Government institutions (CMA, FTC etc) are not the threat. Microsoft is the threat. They have shuttered far more profitable ventures for far, far less.

Who knows what will happen years down the road.

All the arm chair CEOs. I love it.

@IGN_Commenter

Add being able to buy digital games from different sellers, leading to competitive prices, to that list.

Sometimes at a fraction of the cost.

@BSlyTheGamerGuy I know right. Microsoft shot themselves in the foot being ahead of the curve multiple times.

They wanted to champion Xbox one as entertainment console not gaming console. Got mocked relentlessly now here we are with every console having every media platform.

They wanted to push digital. Got mocked (that Sony as was gold). Now Sony are charging for the disc drive separately to encourage digital purchases.

Now they want a platform beyond the console. They are doing it terribly. Their pc store is garbage so no sales coming on their or people entering the eco system on pc for 3rd party games.

Now epic won the lawsuit Vs apple and Google their is a precedent that manufacturers will have to allow 3rd party stores on their devices. I predict Microsoft allow epic store on the next Xbox and the 2 companies push Sony for stores on there too. All on the intent of eventual cloud gaming, boxless, gaming. (Though of course a subset of consoles will always exist even for Xbox imo)

Its sony bs....They even count the stickers as ps5 sales

62milions and no one buying their games?

Stickers cables,stands😜

@JoyfulFire I don't disagree but I also don't know where this "ecosystem" is. Is there something actually more than Xbox and PCs? Will they bring it to Nintendo? Will Apple get native streaming apps? Where can I actually play 'where I want' as Spencer is frequently heard saying? I feel like that's been a pretty stagnant front for Microsoft. I'm afraid that PC is really all they will really put their efforts towards.

@electrolite77 MS make a substantial loss on each console (unless this has changed recently) plus R&D costs etc. as far as I know Sony make a small profit on each?

@OldGamer999 I tapped out of the X this year. Too much drama for me with few believable guarantees that Xbox will stay in the UK console market.
I’ve just got into PC gaming and have bought the Xbox games I want on the app there.
I feel I’ve the best of all worlds with PS5 as my console and Xbox/Steam on PC.
Xbox as console has become irrelevant to me in the UK and they look to be going ‘full slate.’ Maybe I’m the sort of customer they want. I don’t think they care about console sales so I don’t know how long they will keep it going? Plug in PC type job makes more sense? Maybe even licence to a third party PC manufacturer?
It’s a shame. Series X was awesome but never was backed and the UK is ‘Station country.
MS spent so much effort on that merger. Killed momentum and killed the gen. I did warn people.

There is more to gaming than just hardware sales, Sony may sell more consoles but they can't produce enough games, they are down to one AAA First Party game a year, Microsoft are completely dominant in that area and I can play every Sony exclusive I think worth having on my Rog Ally never mind using the PC.
Most of Sonys PS5 games are just PS4 titles with an upgrade they have hardly any 'current gen' developed AAA exclusives and New IPS are almost non existent (there was Concord that lasted all of two weeks)
The only way Sony can claim any type of exclusivity now days is paying 3rd party devs to only release on their console.
Microsoft don't in any way rely on their hardware sales alone so of course the dedicated hardware numbers will be a lot lower, Microsoft still haven't even dropped the price of the Series X on Amazon etc.

@abe_hikura one point I'll quibble over, is MS not competing with Sony on console exclusives. MS doesn't sign a lot of exclusives deals in the AAA space, it buys the companies (e.g., Bethesda). That has to slow down after ActiBlizz of course, and they then made the shift to cross Plat publishing over exclusives. So my point is kind of blunted. But I wanted to reply, I guess?

@RentedPanda very true but I guess the difference is Sony's approach gets them games "now" where as Xbox's approach gets them later at some unspecified point.

Next gen will sell even worse, people are not going to commit to a console without exclusives. Once the number of players on Xbox hardware declines so will 3rd party support.

Sony's not even at their best this gen. They're just running on the coat tails of past successes. Microsoft just can't seem to figure out how to run a business in this industry and they keep tripping over themselves.

This should have been the easiest generation for Xbox to come out on top. Yet here we are, 4 years into the gen and there hasn't been a single exclusive worth while to get anyone to switch sides.

@abe_hikura That's quite a bit of pocket change, no wonder daddy MS started paying more attention. 😋

@LuXifer Considering all the court cases they had to fight and the agreements they had to make (giving Ubi the cloud rights, putting Xbox games on other cloud streaming services, 10 years of CoD games for Switch) it probably cost them even more.

They should have just stuck to how they were, introduced Game Pass but paid for exclusive deals for games on it just like Sony, and then supported the studios they already had.
But no they just had to be greedy and tried to buy their way to success, which has only lead in failure. Now close to 100 billion down in acquisitions and a board of the main company and share holders understandably demanding a return on investment, and we have a competitor who thinks Xbox is so irrelevant it's charged £700 for a mid gen refresh with no games on it!

Thank God the Switch 2 is coming, for me it's going to be Switch and Steam Deck, because I can't see PS6 being less then £650 and who knows what state Xbox will be in. What a messed up generation this has been.

@Ilyn And that's thanks to the likes of Valve, Steam is the be all and end all of digital store fronts, and it made a handheld PC to accommodate it, and now rumours are Microsoft will try to compete with that too.. So PC gamers on the whole use Steam, a few use Game Pass but insignificant numbers really, and MS might be planning to take on Steam in the handheld market too, despite thanks to Steam and its reputation and pricing the Steam Deck is by far the best selling handheld PC.

You could not make it up the way Xbox keep shooting themselves in the foot.