Sony’s PlayStation 5 has sold 61.7 million units worldwide as of June 2024. This is significantly more than Microsoft’s Xbox Series X/S, which has sold only 28.3 million units in the same period. The Wall Street Journal recently published a report discussing the current state of Xbox in the gaming industry.
The report included sales estimates from the analyst firm Aldora Intelligence. These figures highlight the substantial gap between the two consoles. Despite Xbox’s strong financial performance, it is still trailing behind PlayStation in terms of hardware sales.
Xbox generated a record-breaking $21.5 billion in FY24, closing in on Sony’s earnings. However, the PlayStation 5 is outselling the Xbox Series X/S by a ratio of approximately 3:1. Calculations based on Aldora’s estimates show that the Xbox Series X/S sold 7.3 million units over 14 months (July 2023 – September 2024), while the PlayStation 5 sold 20 million units over 12 months (July 2023 – July 2024).
This translates to 0.52 million units per month for Xbox and 1.667 million units per month for Sony.
PlayStation leads in hardware sales
The Wall Street Journal article also discusses the plateau in Xbox Game Pass subscriptions.
Despite initial surges during the pandemic and meeting growth targets in 2020, the service has missed targets in the last two years. In 2022, Game Pass fell short of its 73% growth target, achieving only 28%. The conclusion drawn is that players still prefer to “own” games, posing a barrier to some, alongside the concept of cloud gaming.
The real issue, it is argued, is that Microsoft is hitting a ceiling in attracting new subscribers among existing Xbox players, Steam-focused PC players, and niche Cloud gamers. Xbox views its “content” as the future of the company, shifting focus away from hardware. This positions Xbox somewhat like a third-party developer, as observed by industry analysts and fans.
The future of Xbox hardware is uncertain, given Microsoft’s emphasis on Game Pass. If Microsoft can deliver a series of hit games on the service, they may find long-term success. However, this remains to be seen.
As of now, PlayStation leads with 61.7 million units sold, maintaining its strong position in the gaming industry.
