The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X hardware released at the tail-end of 2020, kicking off the latest console era. While the two systems remain difficult to obtain, both of them have sold quite a few units over the last 15 months. Official sales numbers for the Xbox Series X platform have not been released, but Sony revealed that the PS5 shipped 17.3 million units in 2021. Ampere research director Piers Harding-Rolls estimates that 17.1 million of those units have been sold, and that the number is quite a bit better than the combined total for Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S.
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“Microsoft ended 2021 with its Xbox Series family of devices reachingcumulative sell-through of 10.3 million units,” Harding-Rolls estimated. “This ison a par with the previous generation Xbox One cycle.”
Harding-Rolls believes that Xbox Series S sales made up a larger portion of that 10.3 million units due to “unprecedented adoption of this digital-only device.” The Xbox Series S seemed to be easier to come by throughout 2021, and Harding-Rolls attributes the popularity of Xbox Game Pass as part of the console’s success.
It’s worth noting that Harding-Rolls’ figures are just an estimate. While that number does line-up with previous estimates we’ve seen from Harding-Rolls, it is lower than other estimates we’ve seen. Last month, Niko Partners senior analyst Daniel Ahmad estimated that the Xbox Series X and Series S had shipped more than 12 million units worldwide. That figure was based on Microsoft’s statement last month calling the Xbox Series X its fastest-selling console ever. Whatever the actual number is, PS5 is outperforming the system. However, Harding-Rolls believes the global semi-conductor shortage is making PS5 sales smaller than they could be.
“At this early stage the global sales momentum is with Sony, but it willbe frustrated that its potential has been undermined by productavailability,” said Harding-Rolls.
It will be interesting to see if the shortage improves this year, and what impact it might have on console sales for Sony and Microsoft. If shortages continue well into 2022, it could even lead to some gamers electing to purchase a different console than the one they originally intended. For now, we’ll just have to wait and see how things play out!
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[H/T: Video Games Chronicle]
