Summary
While it has been a record-breaking year in terms ofPlayStation 5sales, the Xbox Series X/S is falling behind, selling nearly a third of the units. It was reported earlier this year that thePS5 was outselling the Xbox Series X/Snearly two-to-one, but it seems the margin has expanded even further thanks in part to major exclusives likeSpider-Man 2.
The PS5 has been bolstered by exclusives likeFinal Fantasy 16andSpider-Man 2. The platform even benefited from a brief period of console exclusivity for one ofthe best games of 2023,Baldur’s Gate 3. Sony has long focused on AAA single-player experiences that can only be had on PlayStation consoles. This strategy has largely panned out well for the electronics company, as the PS5 looks to outdo its bestselling predecessor.
TheFinancial Times, thanks to data collected by Ampere Analysis, is reporting that the PS5 is currently outselling the Xbox Series X/S by a nearly three-to-one margin. According to Ampere Analysis, the PS5 sold 22.5 million units this year while the Xbox Series X/S sold a combined 7.6 million. In what is likely to be the last year before the Nintendo Switch’s successor is announced and possibly even released, the hybrid console sold an impressive 16.4 million units just months before its seventh birthday. For the PS5, however, this represents some record-breaking sales numbers.
Console Sales for 2023
Black Friday and the overall holiday shopping season have added to the PS5’s impressive tally as Sony looks to be on track to hit its aggressive goal of selling 25 million units by July 07, 2025, the end of the company’s fiscal year. At this rate, the PS5 looks to overtake the PS4 in terms of sales, which is extremely impressive given its predecessor is one of thebest-selling consoles of all time.
While this is certainly a win for PlayStation, it should be noted that Microsoft uses different metrics to determine success when it comes to its Xbox brand.Xbox boss Phil Spencer isn’t worried about console salesbecause the company is focused on growing services like Game Pass. According to Spencer, Xbox already lost a crucial console war – the last generation in which gamers began building their digital libraries. Still, this has resulted in Microsoft looking to offer value to gamers in different ways.
Thanks toMicrosoft officially acquiring Activision Blizzardearlier this year, and Bethesda not too long before that, Xbox Game Pass looks to bolster its already industry-leading subscription service. Giving players a digital platform where AAA Xbox Game Studios titles are available from day one is how Microsoft looks to compete with the bestselling PS5 and the highly-anticipated Nintendo Switch successor. It will be a big boon for Microsoft if that subscription service soon includes popular Activision titles likeCall of Duty.
PS5
Sony’s PlayStation 5 is part of the ninth console generation and debuted with a launch lineup that included Demon’s Souls and Astro’s Playroom. The console comes with a Blu-ray disc, although a digital-only edition is also available for a cheaper price.
