Xbox Just Had An Extremely Impressive Month For Sales In The US

So Xbox selling well despite lack of First Party titles this year so far. That's quite impressive.

It's impressive because although both Series X and PS5 have stock issues, Series X and S consoles are performing really well in all markets (even relatively well in Japan) before the first exclusively current-gen games are released except Flight Simulator.

Sony and Microsoft are neck and neck in North America (7.72 million PS5 to 7.6 million Xbox Series X/S). I could see Xbox surpassing PlayStation there if this trend continues.

My two favorite consoles are on top in units and dollars. Kind of weird to see.

Microsoft is able to pay to jump the line for components so no shock there. Im shocked to see people buying it since they have only released like 3 games from 1st party since the console launched

Xbox one sales in the USA was over 32 million compared to sonys ps4 sales in the USA of 38 million, xbox catching up in the USA is no surprise and actually isn't a big deal, it's Europe and Asia where sony sells the most by a landslide and is where xbox need to try and gain some ground which would then be classed as an achievement

I think the emphasis people keep putting on first party titles is a mistake. When I chose between the two that consideration didn't even come into play. I chose xbox because at the end of last generation they really seemed to start doing what was best for gamers with things like gamepass and rewards. Now if I had to choose now after some of their big purchases maybe it would I am not sure.

@Rmg0731 They have released more than 3 since the start of the generation - but its NOT just about the 'first party' exclusives. If it was, then no-one would 'need' to buy a Series S/X as all the games are on PC and if you haven't got the 'hardware' to run the games natively, you can still play by 'streaming'.

The fact the Series Consoles are selling well is testament to the fact that people 'want' to be part of the MS ecosystem because of 'everything' that offers. Without question, its also the best 'value' in gaming right now too. The 'cheapest' PS5 costs $400 (if you can find one), add in the cost of their 'first party' games, which you'll want to make full use of the hardware, and the price keeps increasing.

With MS, for as little as $21 (a month), you can pick up a Series S with 2yrs of Game Pass Ultimate and have access to 'every' new first party game releasing in that time, as well as access to a large library of games, inc those on EA Play, as well as 3rd Party new release games. More than enough to fill anyone's gaming leisure time.

You want to play MLB22, GT7, God of War, and Spider-Man 2 - that's a lot of money on PS5 - especially as you have to pay 'more' for PS5 versions, but Starfield, Redfall, Hellblade 2, Avowed, Forza Motorsport, Plague Tale Requiem, MLB22, ME:Legendary etc etc as well as countless Indies, let alone ALL those older releases (Halo, Forza, MSFS, Psychonauts 1&2, Hellblade, Doom,Wolfenstein, Fallout, Elder Scrolls, Gears of War etc etc) from over 20yrs of gaming are available from $10 a month...

The fact you don't 'need' a Series S/X to be part of the Xbox ecosystem, to play any new Xbox game, shows that actually people 'want' to play on consoles and want to be part of this ecosystem.

@VisitingComet1 You're right. There are very few first-party games that are that popular and drive sales except on Nintendo platforms which are the opposite. This generation seems more like the Xbox360/PS3 generation when Xbox was generally seemed as better hardware, service and value regardless of the exclusives that both platforms had and a generation that Xbox won right until the next generation started and Sony kept selling cheap PS3 revisions to technically overtake it. What I meant is that when the new studios start releasing current-gen games, the value of Series X/S will be even bigger.

It should be noted that Series X/S games are available on Windows and also on mobile devices and Xbox One via Cloud so it's obvious that traditional consoles -Xbox included- are still really popular although the big profits are in software and subscriptions.

Great news.
Real competition pushes all platforms to greater heights to fight for our money and benefits us as gamers in the long run.

Another perspective, friends: in countries in development, such as my own (Brazil), the XSS is simply the obvious choice for those who want to jump in the new-gen (albeit with limitations) but refuse (or can't) to pay more than $1k . Indeed, the small toaster reigns, when it comes to cost/benefit.

@blinx01 Exactly, friend. The more those big tech giants come shoulder to shoulder, the better for us, consumers.

As others have said the fact you don't need a Series console to play Xbox games is a real testament to the power of game pass. The hardwork that has gone in to making the Xbox eco system something that people want to be a part of has to be commended. Even if the lack of 1st party output is still up for debate (which I don't think it should be), people have to admit that Xbox offers value for money.

Hopefully the success can push PS now's overhaul to great heights and everyone wins.

This weeks hardware charts for last week.
USA, Europe, Japan, Total
NS 123,799 78,549 61,211 310,029
XS 108,143 39,084 4,083 173,396
PS5 65,970 39,822 11,288 143,496

However a few UK stores are saying next Series x
Stock drop June 2022 which if comes true should make the UK interesting in May 2022.

Really enjoying my recently acquired Xbox Series S. I'm not too picky about high fidelity everything, but it is such a smooth experience with games. I don't have 4K anything yet, so it seemed the way to go. The stable framerate and resume play are amazing. Loading FFXV up on the new hard drive is so much better.
Great little system. It's also been fun to dive back into Lost Odyssey a little bit. I think one thing I am loving about the Xbox environment is that I don't feel like I need to worry about ever losing my game library...

@JDCII That and backwards/forwards compatibility is the best thing about Xbox.

@Rural-Bandit exactly this. Seeing Xbox has becoming friends with Sega and putting Bandai and square games on gamepass already is noticeable in sales in Japan. They just need to do more marketing over here in Europe. Everyone I know is only talking about playstation or Nintendo and not many people are enthusiastic about Xbox. But who knows if we get more active marketing Xbox can gain ground over here as well.

@Lavalera It's weird how PS has been the default console in Europe for so long. Hopefully it will more balanced this generation.

@Banjo- I'm sure it will be a lot better than it was during last Gen. A lot more people seem to like the general strategy of Xbox this generation. They aren't there yet and gamepass isn't for everyone, but when the exclusives start rolling out I can see a bright future for Xbox. They prolly won't outsell the ps but getting close enough or around the same number should already be something to be proud of

@Lavalera Agreed!

@Chaudy Demand for powerful next-gen hardware on its own far outstrips supply. As long as that's true, Sony and Microsoft could probably skate by for a good long while without any significant first-party releases.

@JDCII I'd have been all over the Series S had it come with a disc drive, if only to re-experience my sizeable library of physical 360 games on. I don't need or want the 4K grunt of the $500 consoles.

Until Persona is on Xbox I'm going to need that PlayStation. Soul hackers 2 this August is a good start.

@Ralizah I probably would have wanted the Series X as well, but I had a 360 when RROD was a thing, and sold everything for a PS3. I never got the RROD, but it was starting to freeze up once in a while… So…discs and whatnot were all gone. Still had Symphony of the Night digital though!
The form-factor and size are so perfect for a console. It’s like the old Nintendo consoles: small, non-intrusive, and just fun. I just love how smoothly and quickly the OS and environment is with in the system. I’ve been looking at PS5 off and on, but it’s obviously hard to find…and worse…it’s so dang big.
I love this little Xbox. The games have been great. Forza, Halo, Minecraft - tons of Square Enix games, a huge library overall. Gamepass is awesome. It’s super easy to pick up and move. I can keep up on the current generation without having to freak out about “best specs” though it’s definitely a big step from my PS4.
It’s my favorite console in a very long time.

@JDCII I have a PC that's probably a tiny bit more capable than the Series S, based on real world game performance in a number of titles, and I can get GP on that, so the little thing just seems needless to me if it can't play exclusives or discs from older Xbox consoles.

Also, I have a gigantic backlog, which also dissuades me from GP.

With that said, if GPUs continue to be impossible to find, I might eventually crack and grab a Series X to play demanding next-gen games that wouldn't run well on my current system. We'll see. Even not needing a 4K console specifically, a lot of games have been good about offering higher framerate and/or RT-enabled modes in exchange for running the game at a lower resolution.

Although, if Microsoft offers a slightly more expensive Series S revision with a disc drive (not holding my breath), I'll be very likely to grab that regardless. Love my 360 games, but I hate the controller.

The funny take I am seeing:
PS5 selling more means obviously there is more demand and PS is king!
XB selling more, however, means PS5 is supply constrained and people settle for Xbox.

It’s like… the entire gen since it started for both had indeed been controlled exclusively by whom can manufacture the most units. Nothing else. Both consoles have such a high demand that they can’t meet manufacturing goals, and that’s not just the current chip shortage in action, both consoles are selling more than they ever been able to make by this point in previous generations.

Demand for both have surpassed manufacturing bandwidth! Both are extremely wanted and the “winner” will be the one that manages to make more.

@Ralizah you know I can understand why it didn’t come with a disc drive aka because of the nearly 90% digi-split but they could have made an optional drive that you can purchase little extra for people like you that own a lot of 360 game. It would have kept the cost down of the main unit but added value to those that want to play their 360 physical libraries.

@awp69
Yeah, certainly not impossible. I believe 360 actually ended up as the top selling console, even ahead of the original Wii, here in NA. This market loves that brand, Xbox One also sold reasonably well considering how that gen started. MS does have to start pumping out some more heavy hitting exclusives, imo, when it does that's when things should really take off.

@Royalblues

Xbox has no games.
...
PS4 vs. Xbox One: Power is more important. Xbox has no games.

PS4 Pro vs. Xbox One X: Power is not important. Xbox has no games.

PS5 rumoured to be more powerful than Series X: Power is more important. PS5 will have more games.

PS5 confirmed to be less powerful than Series X: Power is not important. PS5 will have more games.

PS5 selling more than Series X: Because PS5 games are better.

Series X selling more than PS5: Because there is no PS5 stock.

Series S selling well: Because people settle with a console they don't really want.

Microsoft acquiring studios: cruel monopoly.

Sony moneyhatting Square Enix: I prefer this.

Sony acquiring studios: I celebrate this.

Game Pass: bad because I can't buy Xbox discs for PS.

PS5: good because I can only play PS games on PS but not on Xbox and I can play old PS games on Windows and I can also stream old PS games on any browser except on the Xbox browser. Also, PS5 games are more expensive and I pay for upgrades, which is great.
...
PS has more and better games.

Metacritic 2021: Xbox has more and better games: Because PS... because PS5...

@Royalblues “What kind of loser does that?”

Did you see the headline for the PushSquare coverage of the same news?