While Sony revealed its sales figures for the PS5, Microsoft has not been as open regarding the sales figures of its Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S consoles. An analyst has now estimated that the PS5 has now sold double the number of units that both Xbox consoles have combined.
According to figures released by the NPD group, the PS5 was the bestselling console in January 2022. The console has now shipped over 17.3 million units, with Ampere Research Director Piers Harding-Rolls estimating that 17.1 million units have reached consumers.
Harding-Rolls estimations have revealed that the PS5 has not only outsold the Wii U's lifetime sales but has also moved nearly twice the number of units that Microsoft's consoles have. Harding-Rolls has estimated that the Xbox Series console family has cumulatively sold 10.3 million units. The analyst also noted that the majority of these sales figures consisted of Xbox Series S consoles, as the less powerful console proved to be much easier to get hold of than the Xbox Series X.
While Microsoft's figures are just an estimation at this point, it seems as though Sony's console is still outperforming the Xbox Series consoles. Previous estimations noted that the Xbox Series consoles had moved around 12 million units, however, Harding-Rolls is under the impression that the number of consoles that have actually reached consumers is likely closer to 10.3 million.
Back in January, the Head of Xbox, Phil Spencer stated that the Xbox Series consoles had become the fastest-selling Xbox consoles of all time. This means that the Xbox Series consoles sales eclipsed even the coveted Xbox 360 at the beginning of its lifecycle. The main issue hampering the sales of both the PS5 and Xbox Series consoles is the global semi-conductor shortage as both manufacturers have been unable to meet the demand of consumers. Harding-Rolls noted that if this was not the case, both consoles would have moved significantly more units.
The limited supply of Xbox and PlayStation consoles is also being severely impacted by scalpers, which means that while the companies are shipping and selling consoles, not all of these consoles are necessarily reaching consumers that actually intend to use them. A video on Reddit showed the extent of the issue as it showed people standing on the road next to several PS5 consoles. The camera then pans to a vehicle loaded with even more PS5s and even a few Xbox Series consoles.
Source: VideoGamesChronicle