Xbox’s Series S actually may be helping PS5 sales, analysts suggest

Xbox Series X/S console sales reached 18.5 million last year, according to an analysis firm, although lack of interest in the Series S could be the reason the console is trailing behind the PlayStation 5.

As reported by Video Games Chronicle, Ampere Analysis’ Piers Harding-Rolls estimates that 18.5 million Xbox consoles were sold in 2022. This is an increase in total consoles sold from the previous year, despite being held back by stock shortages. 

Harding-Rolls explained that the widely available Xbox Series S helped increase sales during the past year, although it lacks the pull of its more-powerful Series X counterpart. Thirty million PlayStation 5’s were sold in 2022, sparked by increased availability toward the end of the year. The gap between Xbox and PS5 sales is expected to increase in the first half of 2023, as the Xbox Series X is only expected to become more available in the second half of the year. 

The analysis also found that the 2022 global console gaming market declined by 7.8 percent. This was caused by the previously mentioned supply shortages and the delay of major games to 2023. 

Harding-Rolls also explain how Sony’s market share dropped decreased by 1.3 percent compared to 2021, which Microsoft claimed. Microsoft’s share increased from 25.5 percent to 27.3 percent as spending on “hardware and console-based Game Pass services grew.”

Sony still leads the global console market with a 45 percent share of console hardware, games, and services occurring on PlayStation platforms. Xbox console sales are unlikely to catch up this year, but the platform is seeing growth through its Game Pass and other services.