Yikes.
In terms of console sales, PlayStation outsold Xbox by a ratio of nearly 5-to-1 last quarter, according to financial analyst Daniel Ahmad.
“The PlayStation 5 shipped 4.5 million units in the last quarter,” Ahmad wrote as part of a larger thread on Twitter. “According to our estimates, this is almost 5x more than the Xbox Series X|S shipped in the same period.”
While Sony does report on console sales, Microsoft — perhaps understandably given the context — does not, hence the need for estimation.
“The PlayStation 5 has sold in 59.2 million units as of March 31, 2024,” said Ahmad. “This is slightly behind the PS4 in the same time frame (60 million). They do not expect the PS5 to surpass the PS4 in the next year. In other words, while console hardware sales are healthy, Sony is unable to sell more than the prior gen.”
Ahmad points out that declining sales have lead to new strategies, such as more PlayStation titles — like Ghost of Tsushima this month — on PC.
While console sales paint Microsoft in a bad light, the company reported a 51% increase on gaming revenue as part of its third quarter earnings report. The bump, in large part, came from its acquisition of Activision Blizzard. In the same report, Microsoft did confirm that console sales declined by 31%.
Microsoft as a whole reported a 17% increase in revenue in that same quarter. As announced earlier this month, the company has cut costs even more by shuttering three studios including Hi-Fi Rush‘s Tango Softworks.
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