Highlights
- Sony's PS5 outsold Microsoft's Xbox Series X/S by nearly 5:1 in Q1 of 2024, with 4.5 million units shipped.
- PS5 sales dominance continues, with past years showing margins of 2:1 in 2021 and nearly 3:1 in 2023.
- Microsoft's hardware revenue dropped 31% as PS5 surpasses 50 million units sold, rumors of a PS5 Pro to further lead.
According to estimations from a research firm, Sony shipped nearly five times as many PlayStation 5 consoles as Microsoft did Xbox Series X/S consoles in the first quarter of 2024. Sony's latest earnings call revealed staggering sales numbers for the PS5, with the console surpassing 59.3 million units sold in its lifetime so far.
Since their near-simultaneous launches in November 2020, the PS5 has consistently outsold its Microsoft competitor duo, the Xbox Series X/S. Even though Microsoft stopped reporting hardware sales numbers long ago, Xbox hardware revenue saw a 31% drop at the company's last earnings call, with further declines projected for the future. By sharp contrast, Sony recently reported an impressive 4.5 million PS5 consoles shipped in calendar Q1 2024.
New Xbox Console Leaks Online
A new Microsoft console leaks online, with recent reports indicating this could be the long-rumored digital-only edition of the Xbox Series X.
With the lack of concrete sales figures for Xbox consoles, it's tricky to compare the competitors' sales like-for-like, but analysts and research firms do come up with estimates based on their internal calculations and sources. Director of research and insights at Niko Partners, Daniel Ahmad, recently posted a Twitter thread analyzing key takeaways from Sony's latest earnings call, and revealed that according to the firm's estimates, PS5 shipments outperformed Xbox Series X/S shipments by a ratio of nearly 5:1 during the first calendar quarter of 2024 (January 1, 2024 to March 31, 2024). Since Sony has disclosed PS5 shipments for that quarter to be 4.5 million, that leaves Xbox in the 800k-900k region.
PS5's Sales Supremacy Has Remained Consistent
This trend mirrors data from previous years, with reports from Take-Two and Ampere Analysis indicating PS5 sales outpaced Xbox Series X/S by margins of 2:1 in 2021 and nearly 3:1 in 2023. The strong 2023 holiday season, as well as widespread availability, also helped PS5 surpass 50 million units sold last December. Sony's outlook on the console remains positive, even though it narrowly missed its 21 million sales projection for financial year 2023. Meanwhile, Microsoft's emphasis on Xbox hardware seems to be fading slowly with Series X/S consoles' continually declining sales.
However, Microsoft has confirmed that it's not throwing in the towel yet, as the company is "moving full speed ahead" on the next-gen successor to the Xbox Series X/S. Many believe it will be a home console, but Microsoft Gaming CEO Phil Spencer has teased the prospect of an Xbox handheld. Whatever it may be, it's most likely several years away. For the moment, Sony is dominating on the hardware sales front, and with the heavily rumored PS5 Pro coming later this year, that lead may increase even further.
