Despite PS5 pre-rules: Microsoft sees Xbox as the market leader

In the current presentation of the business figures, Microsoft described itself as the "market leader" for next-gen consoles in the USA, Canada, the UK and Western Europe. While the company itself does not name any precise sales figures in the financial report, there have been at least indications in recent weeks that Microsoft's statement was not put into the world without any context. In the United Kingdom, for example, the Series X and S sold better in March than the PlayStation 5. The NPD Group also announced that in March 2022 the Xbox Series consoles financially successful consoles in the month were in the USA. According to the research company, it was the most financially successful March in the history of the Xbox. Overall, the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S have previously sold ** over 13 million times worldwide. For comparison: in the same period of time, i.e. the first 17 months, the Xbox 360 has sold almost 10 million times.

• numbers from the "Gaming" division
• the miserable lack of chip set

The PlayStation 5 sold around 17 million times worldwide by the end of 2021. Accordingly, the total sales figures are still behind what Sony has already achieved by the end of last year. In addition, the Xbox Series series was the most successful in the United States in March 2022, but the Nintendo Switch sold the most.

numbers from the "Gaming" division

Microsoft also indicates in the report that sales for Xbox hardware in the last financial quarter was also significantly better than originally expected. This should be a higher availability of consoles than was originally anticipated. According to Microsoft, sales in this area rose by 14%, 16% in constant currency. In the total "Gaming" area, sales have increased by 6% (8% in the event of a constant currency).

the miserable lack of chip set

Despite these numbers, the lack of chip set is still a big problem for Microsoft and Sony. Even 18 months after the consoles' release, it is by no means easy to get one of the advertised devices. Accordingly, it is difficult to predict how the sales of both consoles will develop in the future. After all, events such as the Corona eruptions in China could have a negative impact on production chains and accordingly delay new drops of consoles.

It was only at the beginning of the year that we reported that the PS5 would also sell significantly better in 2022 than the Xbox Series consoles. At least in the last month, this trend for important markets has not been true. But whether this is already enough to title as a market leader is another question.

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