Reporting out of the UK points towards the console wars heating up with no clear winner in sight for 2022. As it stands today, December will decide which console comes out on top, with only 20,000 units separating the Xbox Series X/S, PlayStation 5, and Nintendo Switch. November was the best-selling month for consoles all year, boosted by Black Friday, Cyber Monday, and also massive, record-setting game releases.Bolstering the PlayStation 5 was God of War Ragnarok, as the PlayStation 5 bundle represented 40% of all PlayStation 5 sales for the month. All told, Sony's console was up 71% from October sales, continuing the back and forth battle with Microsoft's Xbox Series consoles that has been raging all year in the UK. Last month, PlayStation 5 was the top-selling console, but by the end of October, all three consoles were within 40,000 units of one another.The Xbox Series S was the big winner for Black Friday, enjoying a £60 discount, while Xbox Series X was the most in-demand console. Sales compared to October saw a 105% increase for the Xbox consoles, which is an impressive gain, as they have been steadily selling all year in the UK. However, as evidence that the console war is currently too close to call, Xbox was second for the month of November, despite being responsible for 40% of all console sales.
Third place all year long, the Nintendo Switch leaped over the other two consoles and claimed the UK's top spot for November. A 175% leap in sales compared to last month brought the Switch to the top of the pack for the first time all year. A special OLED Switch bundle with unique Pokemon Scarlet and Violet art was responsible for 8% of all Switch sales for the month.
From a 40,000 difference in October to a 20,000 gap in November, the console war is tightening and heating up entering the last month of the year. Until the latest Pokemon titles were released, the Nintendo Switch was lagging in the UK, having recently overtaken the Xbox One as the third best-selling console of all time in the region. With no more major exclusives coming this year for any of the three consoles, the race has entered its final stretch for the title of 2022's best-selling console in the UK.
Source: GamesIndustry.biz