Microsoft Bigwig Implies PS5 Is Losing Marketshare to Xbox

Im sure stock has something to do with it and switch saturation. Not to mention the cheaper series s. With that said, good. Competition is good for consumers.

When stock matches demand and the exclusives start rolling in, then the games afoot.

It has to do with stock and nothing more. Not hard to gain market share when there are no PS5s available to buy.

Definitely curious as to how MS are managing to churn out so many consoles while the competition is struggling. I don’t know a single other person that’s been able to get a PS5, but the Series S has never gone out of stock at my local target in almost a year.

@get2sammyb How come though Microsoft can manufacture more Xbox stock and Sony can't do the same with PlayStation stock? The whole chip shortage is happening to everyone.

@get2sammyb Totally agree with all of this. Hate to say it but it’s time to churn up the hype machine if things are getting bad.

People may be excited to buy your product if, you know, we had a clue what the hell you were making.

Don’t forget to mention that Sony’s ace-in-the-hole release of the early generation was overshadowed unexpectedly by a third party game (Elden Ring) who stole the spotlight away from Sony’s GOTY contender.

Meanwhile Sony let Spartacus leak and so left gamers wondering what to do for the last few months (ie. whether to buy games or wait until the service launches)

Does "10 million people" mean 10 million active users? Or more realistically, 10 million people have tried a game or two and then just gone back to the downloads?

Demand for PS5 isn’t slowing down and I see series X in stock for days at a time at some online retailers so I don’t think PlayStation needs to panic.

@Th3solution That’s exactly why I’ve not been near the spring sale!

The stock situation is starting to hurt. Bad.

@get2sammyb

Microsoft has the money. I don’t see why they wouldn’t.

This is one key downside of both console makers using basically the same SOC (they are heavily customized on the logic side, but from a hardware production standpoint they are nearly identical) set up and the same key supplier.

If I was running Microsoft, I would gladly pay extra to get first cut of the SOCs coming out of production.

@Oz_Momotaro

Both the PS5 and S/X run what is essentially the same hardware design for philosophy as the PS4 and XBONE but with dramatically better components, especially the CPU logic.

Developing games for both gens is pretty easy. We have reached a point where the highly customized console market has become like the PC market to a certain extent.

Sony and Microsoft will both do fine this generation. I suspect their “joint” solution will be to extend the generation, like what happened with the PS3 and 360. Except these 9th Gen consoles are decently future proofed whereas the 7th Gen consoles were in dire need of replacing by 2010, yet they kept them running for three more years.

It's not so much an implication as a correct observation. Blame the stock situation if you'd like, that doesn't change what's happening. If somehow all the essential manufacturing of the PS5 broke down and Sony couldn't put a single PS5 out, they don't get a magic handicap that disregards hard sales during such a hypothetical.

Playstation IS losing market share to Xbox — at least in North America. Maybe if stock wasn't an issue, they wouldn't be. But whether do to consumer interest or manufacturing difficulties, it's still Xbox seeing greater success.

@RoomWithaMoose

The demand for both Series X and PS5 is out of control in the US.

It’s going to be a close gen in the US and either one could take it. It’ll be a repeat of SNES and Genesis, where US sales will be so close that the NPD will debate it for years (there’s still controversy with the SNES and Genesis) after the PS6 and Xbox 5 launch in 7 to 8 years from now.

Worldwide sales, I expect Sony to be decently ahead. Once again, much like the SNES and Megadrive/Genesis, where the SNES had a pretty decent lead over the Sega alternative in worldwide sales.

Including the Series S feels like a loophole that Microsoft intended just to boost a so called “next-gen” console. Everyone knows it’s just a slightly improved Xboxone X.

I'm loving this, Xbox deserves a break. I'm happy for Microsoft

I mean, unless you are a shareholder, you shouldn't be cheering for a company to have bigger market share, since it means less competition, less effort to appeal to consumers, higher prices and lower product quality,

Could it be that, because of the PlayStation 5 stock problem, Sony is having a hard time promoting the console itself?

This is all conjecture.

Sony just can't produce enough cause of the global crisis that hit with covid.

GT7 is greedy trash though and sony/polyphony deserve to pay for what they've been doing to the series.
Actually Sony has been coming out greedy with the prices as well this gen and they need to stop acting like this asap.

@Shstrick Honestly, it’s because the Series S isn’t a next-gen console and runs on dated tech. I guarantee if Microsoft revealed the numbers, the Series S has massively outsold the Series X and it has turned this type of discussion into a joke. As the Series S is just a slightly improved Xboxone X. If the true numbers were to be released, it would only include Series X sales numbers. The only next-gen consoles are the Series X and PS5.

To my memory, I don't remember a console this good struggling this hard to get off of the ground. COVID threw an unprecedented wrench into its launch and who knows when this stock shortage will finally end. If it's any consolation, a couple of my friends have seen GPUs in stock and on the shelves at a few stores in the past couple of weeks, so there might actually be a light at the end of this stock shortage tunnel, but we're probably still a ways out.

"Microsoft Exec says Microsoft is the best."

Darn I thought he'd say that he thinks Nintendo/Sony are winning.

@Phelaidar not if the company gaining Market Share is the one behind. How does this mean less competition? Surely it means more…

Microsoft bringing the heat to Sony should do exactly the opposite of what you just said (except maybe prices as clearly Sony wants to charge a premium regardless).

They should enjoy it while it lasts.

Honestly it’s great to see Microsoft clawing back some mindshare and will only bring better competition between all the consoles this generation. Exciting times ahead that’s for sure!

I mean...120 million to 50 million? Stock shortages? Talk ish or release numbers. Microsoft has finished 3rd every generation.

What cringe. When your company spends billions to keep chips away from your competitors and on top of that spends $80 billion to buy out 3rd party publishers because you're terrible at making games on your own, is that really something to brag about? Its like a rich kid gloating about having friends when he just buys them all. This is the generation the industry falls apart and you can thank garbage MS for it.

Meanwhile, PlayStations are in much higher demand.

@OmegaStriver No, the Series S is definitely a next-gen console. Other than having less RAM, a smaller SSD, and a weaker GPU, it has the same components in it as the Series X. It should also be able to run all of the same games that the Series X can, including that next-gen Matrix demo.

Can you break down specifics of MS consoles sold? As in how many total and what is the split between X and S?

There are rumours that Microsoft spent extra some money to get chip priority. And as practically you can build 2-3 S vs 1 X is giving opportunity to stock those series S in shops. And when you go to shop and all you can see is Xbox, then you buy atleast something, that is Xbox.

I honestly think Sony buying Square Enix is detrimental at this point

The unwavering Sony fanhumanism is just ignorant and only serves to condone Sony's continued lack of customer relations and greed focused future plans.

Be real, be objective. Sony simply failed during this generational transition. They released the weaker machine, promised exclusivity and a belief in generations, and have done the opposite. They continue terrible customer relations and communication and have an unwanted focus on live service garbage and shameless remaster, remake cash grabs.

If you think supply chain problems are the issue here, you are sadly wrong and know very little on the practice of intentional scarcity in our current economic model.

Listen I have been a Sony fan and loyal PlayStation user since the first iteration; however I am in no way going to simply ignore truth and criticism because of that. That serves only to belittle my own value.

Live is life... Nu Nu Nu Nutella

Wait, I thought hardware sales don’t mean anything for Ms and it’s irrelevant nowadays 🙃

I would guess its the higher clock speeds on the gpu which will be lowering yields significantly, meaning Sony is having bigger problems with supply issues than MS

Microsoft have a console hat costs less than $250 and is readily available from most retailers.

I am sure Sony's engineers are beavering away on their own 'Playstation 5 S' model as we speak.

I see a lot of hyperbole about temporary conjecture.
There’s a lot more PS5 out there than both SS and SX combined.
I think it would be interesting to see the latest production number about SX vs PS5. The SS can be easily found and maybe in McDonald happy meal soon 😅 (before it gets discontinued) so that’s not very interesting statistic in my opinion.

They will this year starfield is going to be massive

I do like the fact there is some good competition it is good for us gamers overall.
But really it is just a PS5 stock issue, the minute they are available in the UK the next minute they are sold out.
Sonys issue is not Xbox or Switch it is their self with supply chain and manufacturing issues.

The PlayStation 5 will be Sony's last console

@get2sammyb Playstation are still in an unbelievably strong position, as you said circumstances have conspired against them somewhat. Though they haven't helped themselves with some misleading messaging, whether it be we believe in generations or Jim talking about how people don't play old games but now they'll offer a service to do just that. That said they are slowly building a library of quality games and the new VR looks incredibly exciting.

As for Xbox they've done well so far but it's clear that it's not as in high demand as the PS5, places like CEX actually buy the Series S for less money than the One S and the Series X is basically down to retail price when used. Its also funny how they conveniently ignore the Switch when talking about sales.

Overall it should be a great generation all round, whatever your tastes

@Sakai
The issue is we don’t know how SX and PS5 production compare at the moment. That would be interesting. SS is obviously easier to make.
🤷🏼‍♂️

I wouldn’t be surprised if Sony showed their typical arrogance to their suppliers, especially regarding prices. On the opposite side, the Xbox exec team looks much more charming to me; not less focused but more charming. Phil Spencer did and does a great job, from what I can see.

@dasd2 just like the PlayStation 4 was suppose to be Sony’s last console? Unless streaming just blows up so big then I just can’t see that happening in the near future but who knows.

It was always going to be the case this gen, that the company who could produce the most consoles in this climate is likely to have a very good chance of maintaining the market lead as the generation goes on - not many can afford to buy multiple consoles - i sure cant.

That said, the Series S seems to have been a very savvy move from Microsoft - it seems easy to produce and is a good way of getting those who have been desperate to get into next gen into it at a fraction of the cost, while availability is low - and potentially will lock those players into the xbox ecosystem when the chip shortage clears up.

Combined with a number of fumbles by Sony throughout the launch period, its not a massive shock to see the current situation, but the argument from Microsoft does completely overlook the insane demand for PS5 that is out there.

Overall this has to be good news for Playstation fans, as Sony will have to work harder to communicate with fans why they need a PS5 and develop the best experiences possible - hopefully doing away with some of the complacency of the past year

@JJ2 the SS looks to have been a great move by MS all things considered

Sony lost out big time on their last gen momentum due to the chip shortage, but I can’t bring myself to think it’s a bad thing at the moment. Strong competition is good for the consumer. Of course Sony still need to earn big money in order to provide sweet deals to the consumer, as they don’t have the huge cash reserves and market value of Microsoft, so the best balance is probably Sony staying just ahead of that juggernaut, which is likely going to be the case.

@Sakai
Financially there’s never been any doubt.
Gaming wise is a different story.

Edit
I mean considering a temporary gain.
I don’t know about longer term perspective.

@PhhhCough "With that said, good. Competition is good for consumers"

Competition is what led MS to acquire all those publishers with ps (and switch) owners being unable to play many future installments in popular franchises. Lack of competition last generation didn't hurt ps4 owners in any shape or form. I think it's time we retired this expression just like "no publicity is bad publicity".

@KundaliniRising333 ah, yes! The good ol' "if you disagree with me, you must be a fanboy, cuz unlike you I'm objective" logic.

Well done you have more stock 👍🤣

But Where's the games?......

Still, playstation 5 has sold 5-6 million more consoles so Microsoft aren't in front in total market share, Nintendo are dominating both.

For this new gen, its gamepass vs great exclusives, and casuals will pick the former so I'd expect Microsofts sales to pick up this gen, but in the end sony will still be on top in terms of console sales

Still waiting for that must have game on Xbox before I buy one. I don't mind paying £10-£25 to indie devs for a good game, still saving money that way than buying another console and a sub to gamepass. They almost had me with the Ori games but I bought a switch Oled and got both games on cartridge!

At the end of the day it's about the games. I have no stake in which company has a bigger slice of the pie and Microsoft doing better will only push Sony to be better.

Not unsurprisingly, as Jim Ryan doesn't understand the consumers, never believed in backwards compatibility and games that were meant to be ps5 exclusive changed to come out on ps4 . , plus knick on effect of covid with lots of games being delayed. Will have to see how the new ps+ effects things

@themightyant "This generation Xbox have a great product and are making lots of pro-consumer decisions."

I doubt this is the reason. (other than switch) Xbox is all most people can purchase at this point, a year and half after launch. This has never happened before. Even in America where xb performs the best, the conversation centers around ps5. Even the jokes in non gaming media (Late Night Shows, SNL, etc) are about ps5s.

This is actually closer to what happened with xb360 being the only available HD console when it launched and Sony having nothing to sell (other than ps2s) while xb360 was getting a very important head start.

If true at all it's only because they're selling a very cheap series s

@Shstrick Do you know anyone who has a series S? I really don't know who that console is for. Anyone who is into tech will want the proper version, and anyone who wants to get an Xbox for cheap can get a second-hand Xbone.

I wonder about the current sales numbers. Total X's + total S's, and total disc drive PS5's + total digital PS5's. From what i hear S's are easy to purchase while X's are a lot less easy. I hear next to nothing about the two PS5 models like if one or the other is more easy to purchase.

Crunching sales numbers may reveal how total gen sales for MS may be highly bolstered by their $300 S model that is small, looks better than any PS5, plays current gen games, has BC, plays game pass, has a web browser, and seems easy to obtain for purchase new. Sony has nothing to compete with the S.

Overall Sony will sell at least as well as MS this gen when supplies improve and more exclusives are released. Competing against MS Game Pass? Absolutely maybe.

It's very telling that the comment says "among next gen consoles", it pretty much confirms that Switch outsold both. Not surprising though, Switch did have both strong software lineup and hardware availability (Series X|S had only the latter, PS5 had only the former).

@mucc Also, is no one even going to consider the product and marketing of the Xbone was so incredibly bad that it inflated the numbers of people playing their cross-gen games on PS4? They had a console that was way more expensive and was more focussed on being a TV box than a games machine an X box can be whatever you want it to be, but a play station is clearly for games. In terms of games Microsoft still doesn't have a really attractive product, but in terms of ease of use and value. The Xbox is well positioned or at least not as obviously inferior as the last generation.

@themightyant I agree. They do add up. I just think that sometimes what people like us who frequent gaming sites consider important to consumers isn't really all that important to the average consumer.

Take backward compatibility for example. You read so many comments about the awesomeness of old games and how much they want to play them and yet xb1 did horribly last generation despite its great BC system. On the other hand, the Switch has broken all sorts of records without it. The ps3 started selling well after it got rid of it (due to a lower price). WiiU had it and it didn't help it retain wii gamers. And the list goes on.

What you or someone else may consider consumer friendly may be important to some people, but all I'm saying is, what percentage are we really talking about?
It's like VRR. I bet less than 1% of gamers even know what it is or care about it.

@themightyant If my kids want a console, they can either have my old one or save up their own money. The point is, that if you want just value you get a second-hand Xbone if you happen to like Xbox, you get the series X. The guy in the shop will probably tell you that the X and S are the same generation, but in reality, S is more like the Xbone Pro (I can't remember the name of that thing).

@themightyant If people want the cheaper option, they need to go for the disc version, unless they only want to play the games that are on a curated list of games that are old or not so popular. Anyway, it's pretty obvious that consumers don't always go with the superior product. There are a lot of stupid things about the PS5 that Sony really should have had straight. It was ridiculous that Microsoft was making a big deal about how the system should just automatically recognize what version of the game you should play, until we found out that even to this day every time you try to play a PS5 version of a PS4 game you have on disc, the PS5 automatically downloads the content for the PS4 game even though the PS5 version is already there. Some games have fast resume from the cards, but many don't.

I think it’s good to see. Sony for too long have been the arrogant market leader, some of their decisions have been horrible. We need a strong Xbox as it’ll lead to us as consumers benefitting more. Stock issues definitely play into this but people are still going out and buying the Xbox when money is tighter than ever so the demand is there and it’s not going badly for a console with ‘no games’ 😜

It does not seem like a big problem but honestly it is a big problem for Sony

They wanted to storm market at the beginning of this gen with great exclusives but supply shortages caused that their first-party games like Miles Morales, Demon Souls, Ratchet, Horizon and GT7 has gone literally nowhere in terms of building a comfortable lead in console space. Case in point Horizon and GT7. While Sony had two bangers, Xbox sold more consoles in US and Europe in both february and march.

Meanwhile, when supply chain problems will be fully resolved, Microsoft will finally start to churn first party games and then start putting Call of Duty, Diablo, Overwatch, Starfield etc. in Game Pass day one.

And since Sony can't go ahead of Xbox like in last gen, cost of timed exclusives will go up and it won't be that easy for Sony to secure them.

Estimates are +- 19 millions for PS5 and 14,7 millions for Xbox Series which is wildly different then in last gen, where Sony had 2,3:1 advantage.

It certainly seems like Series S was a great idea for Microsoft. System that is easier to produce and therefore you can supply stores with consoles. Microsoft could not predict pandemic but it sure as ***** helped them...

@NoCode23 " Sony has nothing to compete with the S"

It doesn't need to. If there is readily available stock and it's not selling well, then I'd understand this statement.

@themightyant hm. Good point about the price hike of ps5 games. I can see how it would deter many people from buying games at launch.

But at the same time, Apple has shown over and over again that people can complain all they want; at the end of the day, if an item becomes popular, the masses will buy it no matter how ridiculously expensive it is. Case in point: airpods. The memes I saw making fun of Apple for thinking they can sell such an expensive accessory and also removing the option of wired earphones were insane. And yet it became the cool item to have and everyone was shelling hundreds of dollars just to follow the newest trend. And then other companies were forced to follow Apple and ditch the headphone jack.

@Shstrick its a combination of money; MS has far more buying power with manufacturers so can produce more Series X and the Series S being a less powered machine was a gamble that paid off for them as it is easier to produce.

@Apfelschteiner Unfortunately I can only speak on prices of consoles around where I live, but buying a second hand Xbone would definitely not be better value than a Series S. At $300, you literally can't beat the value of Series S even if you're looking at used systems. A used fat Xbone still goes for $200. A used Xbone S goes for roughly $300, and a used Xbone X goes for roughly for $400. The Series S performs the One S while offering the ability to play next gen games unlike thr One X due to cpu limitations.

This sucks. Microsoft is a piece of garbage company that just buys everything and gets everything.

Also, console war idiots will use this as their argument to make their green box better

So one quarter you sell a bit more consoles than the rest (but still have Series S available) and PlayStation is about to fail. Strange logic...

Yawn - they are adding in sales of the underpowered S to bolster these numbers - where it is at is the X on it's own.

@Floki There are no next-gen games on Xbox, and there are only about 4 on PS4 (only Astro's Playroom, Returnal, Ratchet & Clank, and Ghostwire Tokyo come to mind).

@Apfelschteiner Microsoft Flight Simulator. But other then that it is true. But as far as I can remember, this year Microsoft will be releasing Redfall, Forza Motorsport, Starfield and Xbox port of Deathloop and all of those games are supposed to be Series X/S and PC only.

Meaning that cross-gen period on Xbox ended with Halo Infinite.

@themightyant The thing about competing on price is that there is always something cheaper. There are so many games on mobile that are free to play and most people already have a phone. Series S would be the kind of thing that a mum would buy for Christmas because the shop assistant pushed her toward it. I wonder how long the Series S will still be able to play the latest games.

@Godot25 I didn't realize that Deathloop is PS5 only (not PS4).

I've seen PS5's on the shelves in the UK a couple of months ago. With XB doing so bad last gen it's inevitable that they will regain some market share with this gen. It's not a slight on PS (Although they are not doing enough to compete on value) It's simply a normalization of the market.

Sony might be in a difficult position and this shortage might give more problems then just sales.

Communication, or rather the lack of it, is also becoming annoying. Besides GoW Ragnarok and the games from Insomniac, we dont know what they have in store for us. And while Summer with all the events could be the reason, there might be another reason. What if Sony has to make the decission to keep their 1st party games cross-gen for a longer period bc of the shortage? If they do a massive SoP while also announcing cross-gen that will lead to negative publicity, bc MS CAN go full next-gen with their ecosystem. What if Insomniac has to make Spidey 2 / Wolverine cross-gen after saying next-gen only? More negative publicity. Ofc this is speculation, but it wouldnt be good for Sony if that would happen.

Then theres yesterdays news about the trials with the premium tier. While it might sound good, what about the "every PS5 game will have a demo" when they announced the PS5? Where are those free demo's and why put the trials behind a paywall. There were free demo disc in the PS1/PS2 era. What about forcing devs to provide trials? Might small devs decide to not release the game on PS5 if it means extra costs to them? Also speculation ofc, but im just wondering.

Then theres the fact MS took the decission to release a stripped down version of their console, which costs about half of what Sony's cheap model costs, bc Sony decided to make 2 similar consoles and only remove the drive. That's already working for MS and the sales show it.

I know i sound really negative and most, if not all, is speculation, but it could become a way bigger problem. Even pro-PlayStation media sounds negative about Sony, like the GamePass articles on PushSquare for example ( which are understandable). Its something i havent seen that often in the past. I hope im wrong though.

@naruball, Sony does not need to compete with the MS S if there is readily available stock and it's not selling well? But reality is that PS5 stock is not readily available, either model, and the X seems only a fraction more available.

With regular supplies and no covid the S model may not be as desireable, but there has been covid. However in "normal" times the S would still offer value with price and features even though it is not a full current gen like the X and PS5 models are.

Good. Honestly this is great...Sony really needed the wake up call and stop doing some stupid stuff they have been doing by being in the lead.

Considering they made far more Series S’s than X, they’re stupid cheap and are literally available everywhere, yes of course they have highest market share.

If it was a straight shoot between X and PS5 it wouldn’t even be a contest.

Good, honestly. This is what competition looks like and it’s healthy for the industry. Sony is finally being forced to make halfway decent decisions. There’s been better news out of Sony in the last two months than the last two years combined IMHO. Whether it’s simply stock issues or not (it’s not, don’t be reductive), it’s happening. And it puts MS in a great position to capitalize once their investments begin to show returns. Let the games begin.

@SamMR Yeah those poor people with no ending money they deserve some slack

Never saw MS shouting off when they were losing...typical brash American *****.

What can Sony do when chip shortages are low?. Many electronic companies are suffering from this.

At the end of the day games tell the truth and currently when time allows my PS5 is switched on first over my SX.

@commentlife Lets be honest its pure on stock Sony does not have a cheap console either with cheaper and different components.

@Royalblues You know hardcore gamers are a minority i love gaming but i cant get a PS5 scalpers are all over this its so annoying that Sony does not have found a way to produce and get the consoles with the right people.

The 'state' of stock may have contributed to this, but there are numerous gamers who perhaps jumped to PS4 from 360 last generation who are returning to Xbox this generation as well as more and more people perhaps picking up a Series S as a 2nd console for Game Pass/exclusives.

The pretty consistent narrative right now, that MS got things 'right' this generation to offer the 'best' value in gaming, all in a really neat and small package, made all the more affordable with All Access and not charging an extra Premium (as you already pay a premium to play on Consoles) just for the current gen version of the SAME game as Sony are.

With things like VRR, Dolby Atmos, Dolby Vision etc working from launch too, and all of Sony's poor communication, that's going to impact on peoples choices too...

@Flaming_Kaiser Did you sign up at PlayStation Direct? Just sign up there and wait for the email, might be your best bet to get 1 at retail price and its available for the Netherlands.

@Royalblues totally agree hearing some comments it's the ps5 wasn't available so they got the series s/X blah blah , what most ppl in this thread are failing to see is gamepass, that is what has made the difference,most ppl are struggling financially in the current climate and they get a choice of either a console and pay a sub with a lot of day ones for a very cheap price or a console where they have a to spend up to £70 for day ones and pay out for a plus/now sub ..which one would you prefer you kids to have financially ???? And yes Xbox hasn't got the ps exclusives so what they got plenty on the pipeline and every day one game is money saved ( even 3rd party like the new sniper elite coming next month )

Oh and another point I did bring out back in January but ppl said I was wrong ( who's looking wrong now with no way Microsoft will carry on with sales blah blah ) ,with Xbox selling more consoles in the christmas period beating ps on sales then they have only gotten more thanx to the teens who got it for Christmas then bragged to thier mates how gd gp was and then they go and buy a Xbox too then grows and grows and every sale is a loss to playstation future sales cause most of them won't want to let gp go

@Apfelschteiner No next gen games? There Flight Simulator and The Medium. S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2: Heart of Chernobyl was originally supposed to be release April 28 but have been delayed. There are quite few next gen games.

@WizzNL Yeah but i didnt get a response yet im at a point i just gave up and buy PS4 games. Its a pity but it cant be helped. Het is niet anders. Im not going to jump through hoops to get a console. And mind you i bought a few titles i really wanted to play on day one hoping i would get a console i time.

I suppose it's impossible that it had anything to do with Microsoft paying for chip priority, can't possibly be that.

And let's not kid ourselves, it's not for server racks and surface devices, they tend to be mostly intel.

We know it was for an edge in console sales. After all, it's odd how Series X's are strangely getting a lot of supply lately while PS5 is barely trickling out of the factories.

@somnambulance Actually they outsold the Switch too.

@GADG3Tx87 MS don't pay for 'chip priority' that doesn't exist, instead it's the exact same as any other company, the more orders you put in the higher up the list of priority customers you climb and more requests you can make, and the reality is Microsoft spends a lot more with AMD then Sony does, thus it gets preferential treatment.

@BeerIsAwesome MS always plays fast and loose with figures. For example at one point I believe that when they stated Xbox 360 units shipped numbers they were including replacement units sent out due to the RROD. I knew someone who had 4 replacements so in MS’ eyes that counted as 5 units.

@Mezzer What a ridiculous nationalist comment, you do actually realise Sony closed most if not all it's international SEC offices and moved operations to America right? So most of the staff at PlayStation making the key decisions are probably Americans, how does that affect your hate?

@WizzNL To be honest both Sony and Microsoft could do with big events in the very near future. Regarding confirmed stuff, Halo Infinite Season 2 is currently the only Xbox thing happening before November.

@S1ayeR74
Here you go.
https://www.purexbox.com/news/2022/04/rumour-microsoft-paid-for-chip-priority-to-increase-xbox-series-xs-stock

These stories have been coming out everywhere over the web. It's claimed to be for servers and surface devices. Do some searching and you'll find they tend to use intel for a lot of those devices.

@GADG3Tx87 And they still place bigger orders with AMD then Sony does, it's entire game streaming service runs on thousands of Xbox Series X server blades for one, so you are wrong. Do some research yourself. You could look at the Surface store page for one as you'll see AMD chip versions are offered alongside Intel ones.

And why are posting a link to a 'rumour'? Any business in existence has priority customers, it's not a big secret but the only way they get the status is by being big customers placing the most orders... it's not rocket science.

@S1ayeR74
Keep telling yourself that, we all know why. Eerie how a steady stream of Xbox consoles are suddenly becoming available around the time these reports came in while the PS5 is still practically non-existant. I know you don't want to believe it, but when the PS5 is more readily available it will outsell the Xbox as it always does and Microsoft knows this, they still haven't caught up to PS5 despite shortages which was reported around a 2-1 outselling in January.

@Grumblevolcano True, and im expecting both to have showcases during the Summer. The point i was making, or what im worried about, is that IF Sony has a great line-up planned but announces those will be cross-gen again, it might cause negative feelings instead. Theres near 20M PS5 Consoles sold and most owners wont be happy if this cross-gen period continues after GoW Ragnarok ( although understandable ), they ll have a next-gen console being mostly held back for over 2 years then, apart from some features. Its understandable and not Sony's fault when it comes to shortage of chips, but the majority of consumers dont care about that. They want true next-gen games for their consoles. Like i said, its speculation from my side and i hope im wrong, but if it turns out right it wont do Sony any good.

@GADG3Tx87 Oh dear, well you can ignore simple well know factual business practices and believe the hyperbole rumours if you like, more fool you. Console sales aren't important to Microsoft, they are only a nice surprise to them. Shame you don't get that.
And it's a well known fact also that more Series X consoles are available as it has finished building and installing its Series X server blades, all facts you are choosing to ignore.

@S1ayeR74
Console sales are the primary (but not only) method to get people on GamePass, so console sales are still very important. Deny it all you want. Web wide reports will have weight to them and as I said, an abundance of consoles becoming available at the same time? Wake up dude.

Microsoft are not this big friendly company you think they are, none of them are and they'll try anything to get ahead, it's what companies do.

Again, when the PS5 is more readily available it'll do what PlayStation always has every gen.

@GADG3Tx87 No, Game Pass is on mobile devices, any computer, tablets, and console.
I think you'll find their are a few million more computers that can run Game Pass via streaming or natively, then their are consoles. Your the one ignoring the facts and twisting them to suite an incorrect narrative.

@S1ayeR74
I said primary, not only method. It's not a narrative you just want to ignore reports of what is happening. You want facts, then a quick search will show you how many reports there are about this. Again i know you don't want to believe it but it's just what companies do. Funny how a sudden PR line of 'servers and surface' devices were used when they historically use intel.

I can see there is no convincing you, end of the day you've just got to look at what's happening and the dots line up.

I won't be wasting my time with you any longer, any rational person knows why this happens. The industry is very cut-throat and Microsoft are no exception.

@Th3solution Um. I don't think Elden Ring is the problem, or a problem for ps5 selling.

@OmegaStriver The switch is underpowered. Is that a joke to ps5 too because it's not next gen like the series S? Are we going to change the narrative that ps5 is beating xbox because it's outselling the series X and not the S?

@JJ2

You know damn well that MS lied through their teeth when they said consoles sales don't matter or that Sony/Nintendo isn't their competition. If Gamepass mattters, the consoles that have the most subs matter too (series X/S). Gotta sell the division I guess.

@Texan_Survivor
1. And whose fault is that? Sony could have done similar thing. They knew that base PS4 is selling more even after release of PS4 Pro, so they could get a grasp "oh, some people don't like to shell 500$ for a new console"
2. Again. Whose fault is that? It's not like Sony is forbidden to make a subscription service that offers 1st party games. They just chose not to do that.
3. Outside of fact that this is just industry rumor that is from one source, Sony could do that too (if it is true). They just chose to allocate their money elsewhere. But at the end of the day, it is business.

Also, there is a fact, that PS5 heavily outsold Xbox Series in first months of 2021 because Microsoft was pushing their XsX chips into datacenters because of xCloud. So it is not like Xbox could not sell better then it is selling rn.

Sony had the advantage to be against Xbox division that was underfunded from beginning and regularly shot themselves in the foot. Now, when Microsoft finally commited to Xbox, they have real opponent.

@RevGaming You’re right, Elden Ring is not necessarily directly related to PS5 sales, but I think there may be an indirect effect. ER’s huge launch did take the wind out of the sails for Forbidden West, which was undoubtedly intended to be a console seller and a killer app for the PS5. And I’m sure HFW did move some PS5’s, but the fact that ER sold as well (or maybe even better) on Xbox was a surprise, and I think the game has overshadowed HFW in the public consciousness. Nevertheless, the bottleneck is definitely the lack of chips to get PS5’s to market, but Sony was robbed of some of the media buzz that HFW could have achieved otherwise.

It’s all good though, as the PS5 will have legs if they can get production up to speed, but in the race for market share, they have likely slipped backwards. There’s a good chance GoW Ragnarok will provide a second chance to dominate the discussion and move a lot of units later this year.

They didn't take anything and it's simply a result of Sony not getting parts and not the preference of fans. It's also more evident from the fact that I can find and Xbox but the same can't be said for PS

Great news. We want a closer generation. It’s the best out come for gamers.

@Th3solution Well Elden Ring is multiplat and HFW sales are being held back because a lot of people are waiting to get their PS5. It's still a systems seller. GT7 too. Dying Light 2 sold 5 m and hfw and gt7 are way above that game in the 2022 charts. I don't think not having the best game, but the second "best" game of the year is something bad. Elden Ring isn't exclusive or anything. I can buy both on ps5, while I can't on other.

Supply is the only thing holding it back. I doubt Halo Infinite doa, the amazing FH5 and gamepass is enough to convince a lot of people. I know people that got the xbox because they grew tired of waiting in lines to get a ps5. They would probably sell it if they get the chance to get a ps5.

@themightyant That was me. I paid $100 more because digital was never sent to my walmart.

@Apfelschteiner S series has RDNA2 features. I see a lot of parents with younger kids buying this console + game pass (best value). If you don’t have a 4K TV, you’re good. You don’t have to pay €80 for a new game either. I, myself, stick with the series X, PS5 & Switch (far away from next-gen but selling like cookies).

@naruball

I could give two damns about the VRR lol. I don't care about the legacy titles sony is bringing. I can only play up to ps3 games and I'm playing mass effect atm and it feels like a ps2 game. I don't even care if I'm spending $70 as long as it's justified (not gt7). PS store is now charging me taxes, so it's $77 for me, and yet I still not missing gow because of it.

@themightyant PS5 disc version doesn't sell at a loss btw. Last year they announced it.

@RevGaming Oh, no doubt. HFW has sold and will sell fine, and will still move plenty of PS5’s. I still think it’s reach and power to do so would have been greater if it didn’t launch next to the critical darling and biggest game of the year. Perhaps I’m wrong though.

The fact remains, Sony’s excellent exclusives are its biggest ammunition to pull players into their ecosystem. Like Sammy says in the article, this quarter was supposed to be Sony’s biggest with HFW and GT7, and surprisingly they lost ground. It’s lack of supply, yes. But having competition in the game space also pulls eyes away from your brand. Instead of headlines about the awesomeness of HFW, we got saturation of ER coverage from the games media. Which is fine, by the way. Apparently ER is fantastic. It’s just an opportunity lost to make HFW shine even more.

@Th3solution It could have only been greater in the short term, but I still think people will buy after they're done with ER. After GT7, there won't be a massive selling game up until whenever GOW is released or in October with Gotham Knights. It's mostly the stock issue. No other way in hell Xbox could have beaten PS5 in sales with no games during Q1 2022. I really don't see the competition yet. Gamepass is great, but will Sony really care if they lose cheap consumers? I think they would start to worry if suddenly xbox manages to compete games wise every year (kind of like in 2021) and it's harder to justify the $70.

@get2sammyb All of these overreactions and both haven't shown their upcoming games. They are both dry atm.

Lets get back to who has the better upcoming games. Talking about games is the most interesting part about this hobby.

@Snake_V5 MS is buying more chips for other products, and are paying a premium to get them first.

I wouldn't read too much into the streaming games. I use that feature myself too but only to earn an easy achievement for the big Bing rewards points and then I stop using it until the next.

I mean it’s clearly the stock issues no hate about Xbox I have one myself. The fact that PS5’s are impossible to find where as you can spend $300 or less and get a series S readily available at most stores just sitting there on shelves yea of course. It’s been 2 years almost ppl are tired of waiting to experience next Gen and are getting what they can get at this point I myself know multiple people long time ps fans who grabbed the Series S just to experience next Gen cuz they have yet to find a PS5

@NOLIMITGHST Except they aren't really experiencing the next gen with the S, it's more like a half-step. It only makes any sense as a game pass machine for parents who are fine with giving their kids curated gaming that most likely means that they will miss out on most of the best games and will get a lot of time fillers along with the odd gem.

@RevGaming The Switch…is not “next-gen”…

@get2sammyb No offence, but saying ppl are overreacting is a bit funny when i read ur first comment in this thread and think of how many times you brought up GamePass the past few months. I think its pretty normal some of us are a bit worried about the way things are going and for good reason, with GamePass, the aquisitions, the chip shortage, MS going full in and throwing billions and the silence from Sony. If this is going to end up like the start of the PS3 / 360 era, it wont be easy to turn things around again this time. But we ll see how things will go in future.

Once SONY can get them Chips we will get back to normal i bet i.e the PlayStation brand beating the Xbox brand like it has EVERY Gen in the end. So nothing to see here, move along I must say tho as a rabid Fanboy like me it's killing me that SONY can't make more PS5's

@GADG3Tx87 Again you are wrong, that’s why you won’t convince me of anything. You ignore facts, MS suddenly only started using AMD? You haven’t a clue where they use AMD chips unless you work for them, and judging by their access to chips looking at their supply chain, they use them a lot more then SONY does and get priority treatment.

@Fenbops gamepass was the greatest thing for Xbox but let’s me honest if they didn’t have that no one would be buying an Xbox. Rn

@naruball "..Competition is what led MS to acquire all those publishers with ps (and switch) owners being unable to play many future installments in popular franchises."

Let's be honest, if MS didnt acquire zenimax and actiblizz, google, amazon or tencent would've. I'd rather those games and companies stay with a decent console maker, at least. And ps kinda started it all with paid timed exclusives. Also, I've heard from many here, that they "couldn't care less about Bethesda's buggy games". And it's not like the switch was clamoring for more CoD games. And yes competition is good for consumers, that's how we got a gamepass equivalent on ps.

I will be forever a Sony gamer... the library for me is just over the top better... if that means I have to pay more for future consoles then so be it.

Oh man. I came back to read on the comments and it’s entertaining haha
It’s like we are back in 2014 console sales are all that matter flip flop with the drama and the tables are turned upsides down with arrogant Sony and beautiful Spencer (yes the saviour was already there 😅) blah blah.

Jesus. 😅
Funny enough everyone knows it’s a shortage issue and instead of moving on they try make up some fantasmagory helped by many clickbait titles to be fair.

@somnambulance I think their are a lot of hidden gems on Game Pass, even multiplat ones. But the big games are coming, personally I enjoyed Halo Infinite campaign. Just depends on the delays, lots of those happening. I did hear Naughty Dog may be working in a new IP? Could be interesting. I think it will be a good battle this time. It's what you need.

Stock is part of it but it is more than just that. I own multiple consoles but didn't buy a xbox one but I do have the new Xbox. MS is just doing better this round and Sony makes mistake after mistake. Greedy price increases, not matching gamepass, Grand Turismo, Stock shortages etc. Nothing but bad press all year, even with Horizon their was mistakes. Management is hurting them plus greed and their constantly being bull headed and inflexible. Sony needs a change and what really is still holding them up is the fact Microsoft really has a major dry spell in games but in the long rung Ms may give them some competition in first party games. Sony needs to stop acting like they can do what ever they want because they are the big dog and listen to the gamers because with out gamers their is no Playstation. Do not make the same mistakes Microsoft made last gen and not listen to the gamer.

@Snake_V5 They paid over market prices to ensure they got a larger proportion of available chips, as reported and confirmed recently.
This is either clever use of their assets, or an abuse of a dominent position used to buy more market share, depending on how you see it.
Either way, Sony have more shortages and thats a shame as theres no doubt for me that they were well placed to continue their dominance doing what I want format holders to do - develop big aaa 1st part titles and sell them to me. I still think this is the way this gen will be, but supplies will keep it closer than it would have been, I think.

@ValentinaMoore maybe!? Maybe not? They do have Gamepass so pointless looking at it any other way.

@ValentinaMoore absolutely this.

I buy all machines, simply as I want access to everything. Series X was for GP only as theyy have nothing i want to play I cant play on PC.
So far, my series x has been on for about 4 hours of tunic all year (already 0layed Guardians on ps). My PS5 has been on most nights, and most of them nights we've had both ps5s on as my wife is a keen player too.

No doubt that situation will change, but theres very little coming on xbox that would make you buy a machine if it didnt have gamepass.

Cos they are, both are a lot closer now than 5 years ago.
Nintendo are still currently king however.

@Apfelschteiner
I agree with you. Just go back to 2019 and check out what people wanted.
: 4 teraflops
10GB RAM
No disk drive.
Storage: 512GB NVMe SSD.

Yep that’s exactly what people were wishing for and that thing to be half of ‘next gen’ production number Ms brag about 🙄

I swear if Sony was doing that the internet would be crying in despair. Haha

1,5 years since release, and still not a PS5 in sight. It's ridiculous.

@Grimwood “ How is series s always included in sales comparisons? Its 250 bucks (i got mine for 230 even) and always available, of course it will be sold way more often”

What does this even mean? It’s included for the same reason Switch is on the chart, even if it has inferior tech. It’s included for the same reasons PS4 and PS4 Pro are grouped together on sales charts, they play the exact same games. This statement comes across as whiney.

Surprise some of you guys are mentioning Starfield lol. That game has nothing to do with any of this.

Considering PlayStation has Sold Millions more than Xbox sure they do have stock🤪 get the stats on which is the nextgen console sales or the Xbox 1.2 that is always in stock & free with Mobile phones.

I have considered it myself. Get an x and gamepass since it looks like ps5s still wont be easily obtainable for msrp any time soon. 3rd calender year sony. Sigh.

@OmegaStriver You didn't get the point

@themightyant Thanks for the clarification. I admit I was a victim of being lied to by sony yet again.

If Microsoft doesn't report numbers, then how can we know they actually outsold ps5 in those territories? I must be missing something.

MS has been back to form with the S/X so no surprise it’s gaining ground. Good hardware, good games, great subscription model and widely appealing acquisitions - it would be a nightmare if they hadn’t got anything back after all that! PS will be fine though I’m sure. Still a lot of good stuff to come in the next year or two. But yeah the stock situation is not ideal I guess, but tbh I’ve kinda zoned out of that one since everyone I know that wants one has managed to get one now.

@Texan_Survivor
1) My point was. They could. Microsoft did not forbid them to do it nor anybody else. They could made a weaker model with simpler cooling, smaller APU so they could now make that hardware in spades rn when there is a chip shortage. They choose not to, which is fine, but there is no reason to "blame Microsoft" for it.

2) Ehh. EA has EA Play Premium. Ubisoft has Ubisoft +. So Microsoft is for sure not only one out there doing it. So it is not a necessity. But a choice. But again, you can't blame Microsoft for creating attractive subscription service while you are not doing it. Disney did not blame Netflix for doing that. Instead, they just did it themselves to stay competitive. And of course, building a subscription service is not a cheap thing to do. But let's not pretend Sony is poor citizen ho could not afford it.

3) It's all about allocating resources. So maybe next time, don't spend a fortune on stupid timed exclusive deals (ehm. Deathloop, GhostWire, Kotor remake) and spend it to have chip priority.

Ehh. Who is saying Series S is selling at a loss? If I look at the specs (way smaller APU, less RAM chips, half sized SSD, no Blu-ray drive, less expensive cooling, smaller chasis) I expect it to be around "no profit" or "slight profit." Especially since Sony already told investors that their base model of PS5 is already sold at profit.

All of other stuff is just crying. Sony could make a banger subscription service with their quality 1st party games. They are just chose not to.

Talking about business as unfair is pretty funny. Because there is no world where Sony did not make most out of their competitive advantages last gen.

@OmegaStriver Series S runs on the same Tech as the Series X, Just less GPU Power (same CPU Power) and less ram.

Microsoft has the hardware, PlayStation the games.

I hate Sony's half-arsed way they've implemented object based surround sound cos this 3D audio nonsense doesn't cut it, as well as VRR (for some games only, pfft).

And Sony won't embrace Dolby Vision in gaming, just nuts.

@Texan_Survivor
Yes. Ubisoft and EA are giving all their games in subscription day one. I mean, just type Ubisoft + and EA Play Pro into Google. Yes, they are not doing it on consoles (but Ubisoft + is coming to Xbox this year) but they are still doing it. So I really don't understand why Ubisoft and EA can do it, but Sony can't. Or they also have a warchest type of money like Microsoft?

Your whole argument is about "Sony is too poor to build competent subscription service" which is just not true. Sony had net income 11 billion dollars in last fiscal year.

These comments were enjoyable to read, seeing people take a neutral stance vs the typical pro Sony. For me this isn't surprising, not withstanding the availability argument (I've been able to get multiple ps5s here for friends and family in the US with nothing more than Twitter alerts) the Xbox vision for this cycle is more complete. Their goal of play your games wherever you want is much more cohesive and we'll executed compared to Sony's 'next generation vision'.

Right now one can buy game pass ultimate for ~$60 and have a monumental library of games, available on their previous gen, next gen, pc, and mobile via the cloud. Don't have a 4k tv or don't see the advantage of the higher resolution/spec? Save your money and get a full featured home device. They haven't had a monumental pivot like the online requirement from the Xbox one launch.

Meanwhile with Sony we've had maybe 5-6 ps5 only titles after being told that there's a reason for generations. Studios internally working to push patches out because the save system is so different and non-transferable between ps4 and ps5 versions, despite containing essentially the same information. Already had the backtrack on the free upgrade of ps4 titles to next gen, with the hiding of the ps4 version of forbidden west from consumers on the ps5 version of the store so consumers will spend an extra $10 for no reason other than greed and revenue numbers. Right now we're looking at a major overhaul of ps plus and ps now and they're shutting down ways for their loyalest fans to get on board with a discounted price while trickle feeding need to know information so we can make wise consumer decisions for our situation.

You know I've been gaming since the commodore 64 and the atari 2600 and after and I've been fortunate to be apart of every major launch of a console that I wanted. I wasn't able to get my ps5 till February of last year .I still can't find my wife one . This generation has been a complete and uder let down with the way this whole thing has been handled. I don't even won't to tell any one when asked if I have a ps5 that I got one. Because I feel bad that they are unable to get one. This was rushed with no measures taken they shouldn't have released it until they had enough to put put day 1. So if most of the consoles are in some scalpers ware house their not in homes were people are going to be buying games thus meaning game sales aren't going to be over the top.Maybe that will wake them up and instead of throwing all the cash into buying up game developers how about buying more chip plants or throw a bone to AMD to help ramp up more manufacturing ? This has not made gaming fun or enjoyable this has made it a nightmare and a pain in ass.

@get2sammyb for sure, you have some good points. I think Sony are buying a chip manufacturing facility are they not? Hopefully that’ll set things straight to a degree

@Flaming_Kaiser BOL seems to have a bunch of PS5 in stock that prolly are up for sale soon. So keep an eye on their site if ur interested 😉

@WizzNL Thanks im going to do that. 😁

@Flaming_Kaiser They went on sale this morning around 7:45 and sold out at 8:00, so sadly missed the chance. I ll keep an eye out though and will tag you again when i see more in stock.

Can also DM me on Twitter if you use that and want, that way i can DM you when i see something. Using same name as here on Twitter, but up to you ofc 😉

@WizzNL You know what the problem is i work shifts so its really difficult to plan around that. Im old and i hate Twitter but ill go look one up.

@Flaming_Kaiser Yea that's understandable. They usually put them up for sale at early hours, so that will make it hard to grab 1 for people and the scalpers with their bots arent helping either. Dont bother with Twitter then if you dont use it , cause you would prolly be at work anyways and only get more annoyed. If i get a heads-up again i'll just try to grab 1 and check if ur still looking. I know plenty of ppl who still want 1 so i can pass it on for retail price anyways. This whole shortage situation just sucks really.

@WizzNL Cool and cant understand that Sony took so long to put up a decent system anyway. Scalpers dont make you any money the stuff is probably on a shelf somewhere its such a waste.

Stop linking to old articles Smitch.