An estimate of PS5 vs Xbox Series X/S sales in a comparable time paints a dire picture of Microsoft’s platform, and explains the company’s recent multiplatform push. Microsoft doesn’t officially reveal sales figures, leaving analysts to rely on estimates from market data trackers. However, the company has admitted that it has “lost the console war.”
PS5 vs Xbox Series X/S sales: Where does Microsoft stand?
According to Niko Partners’ director of research and insights, Daniel Ahmad, Sony shipped five times the amount of PS5s than Microsoft shipped Xbox consoles in the last quarter alone. To put this estimate into perspective, PS5 shipped 4.5 million units in the last three months, so Xbox Series X|S combined sold less than a million.
Even if one generously assumes that Microsoft sold more than a million consoles in the last quarter, this figure isn’t enough for the company to justify releasing console exclusives.
The cost of making games continues to rise. Despite having sold 59.2 million PS5s as of March 31, 2024, Sony itself is feeling the pinch and has said that it’ll aggressively pursue a “two-pronged” approach whereby its games are released on the PC as well. With Microsoft selling significantly less consoles than Sony, its decision to release games on rival platforms was most definitely a no-brainer.
