Lagging Xbox Sales: X/S Falls Short of Xbox One Mark, as PS5 Storms Past PS4

Xbox Series X/S Sales Trail Behind Xbox One, While PS5 Sales Surpass PS4
Four years after its launch, sales of Xbox Series X/S are still behind those of its predecessor, Xbox One, at the same point in the consoles’ life cycle. On the other hand, PlayStation 5 sales have accelerated, outpacing PlayStation 4 by a significant margin.
According to the latest sales data from Circana, a leading marketing research and technology company, the trends are clear. In a lengthy post on Bluesky, Mat Piscatella, the company’s executive director and games industry analyst, summarized the findings. Here are some key highlights:
- Through the first 50 months in the US market, PS5 sales outpace PS4 by 7%, while Xbox Series X/S trails Xbox One by 18%.
- In the first 38 months, PS5 led PS4 by 6%, while Xbox Series X/S trailed Xbox One by 13%.
These findings are part of a "rough" 12 months for gaming hardware, with consumer spending falling by 29%. The drop in spending is attributed to the natural decline of older consoles, as well as the "past their selling peaks" status of both PS5 and Series X/S.
While specific hardware sales figures weren’t disclosed, Sony reported that 61 million PS5 units have been sold since its launch in November 2020. Microsoft, on the other hand, doesn’t share sales figures for Xbox Series X/S, instead focusing on the gaming experience as a whole, rather than individual hardware.
Piscatella’s full summary of Circana’s latest report on US games and hardware trends is available on Bluesky and provides a fascinating read.
The Takeaways
- PS5 sales are outpacing PS4, while Xbox Series X/S lags behind Xbox One.
- Gaming hardware sales experienced a 29% decline in the past year, driven by the natural decline of older consoles and the sales peaks of newer consoles.
- Sony has sold 61 million PS5 units since its November 2020 launch, while Microsoft doesn’t disclose individual sales figures for Xbox Series X/S.
What do you think is driving the shift in console sales? Share your thoughts in the comments below!