Both next-gen consoles have sold like hot cakes, but there's a big difference in the number of units sold between PS5 and Xbox Series X|S.
A few months after their respective launches, it's time for the first balance sheets for PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X. Arrived on the market both in November 2020, the two next-gen consoles produced respectively by Sony and Microsoft have grabbed as every year the most important slices of the gaming market. But which of the two will have sold more?
For sure, sales of both consoles have been affected - and not a little - by the effect of the coronavirus pandemic that has affected the whole planet. A lack of stock due to production problems and long waiting times have put the load on an already complex situation. To weigh, then, there were also the sales made mainly through web channels, both during the pre-sale phase and after the launch date. And then no queues from the night before the launch, as we had learned to see in previous years: the bans on assembling have in fact pushed the manufacturers of next-gen consoles to rely exclusively on those situations at low risk. All ingredients for a recipe with a bittersweet taste.
PlayStation 5, the sales numbers
Launched in November 12 (a week later in Europe), PlayStation 5 has sold 4.5 million units in 2020 alone. This is confirmed by the data released by Sony, which, speaking of numbers, has already estimated an increase of 7.6 million units by March 31, 2021. Impressive numbers that, making a quick comparison with the past, do not differ much with the launch of the PlayStation 4, which took place in the same period of the year 2013.
Speaking instead of more recent times, PS4 has managed to reach the goal of 115 million units sold, with 1.4 million units only in the last three months of 2020 (but today is almost completely out of production). Sony's report, then, also showed that 87% of PS5 users have subscribed to PlayStation Plus, which, meanwhile, has reached 47.4 million registered gamers.
Xbox Series X, sales figures
As for Sony's console, the Xbox Series X, the data comes not from the manufacturer but from Daniel Ahmad, market analyst at the company Niko Partners. On Twitter, Ahmad's estimates speak of about 3.5 million units sold, definitely behind the figures communicated by Sony for its flagship console.
According to Ahmad, what made the difference was the delay with which Microsoft undertook the production phase of the Series X|S, later than Sony did with its PS5. To this, then, add the already mentioned effects of the pandemic epidemic that, inevitably, have worsened a situation already not too rosy for the Redmond headquarters.
PlayStation 5 Vs Xbox Series X: who won?
If the data were to be confirmed, the winner would be the PlayStation 5. A good goal for Sony that, even in critical times like the current ones, has managed to climb on the top step of the podium of the sales ranking in the panorama of game consoles.