4 years ago
Kamran Shamsi
According to a new report by the NPD Group, the PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console for January 2022 in the USA, with the Xbox Series X following in second place (https://twitter.com/MatPiscatella/status/1492134444953583618). While exact sales figures were not published, NPD confirmed that the PS5 triumphed in both units sold and dollars made.
Although there have been constraints on production due to chip shortages, video game hardware saw a 22% increase in sales compared to January 2021, marking the biggest January since 2009.
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While the PlayStation 5 topped the Xbox Series X this month, industry analyst Mat Piscatella believes the top console depends more on supply rather than demand (https://twitter.com/MatPiscatella/status/1470387401503637508).
“It's all about stock. The console with the most units in market will lead the charts. Will likely be the case for a long while.”
This lines up with statistics from late last year that also saw the Xbox Series S outselling the PS5 and the Xbox Series X despite the latter two being the much more powerful console (https://www.businessinsider.com/most-popular-game-console-black-friday-2021-xbox-2021-11). This is simply due to the Series S being widely available to buy now as opposed to the higher demand, more powerful consoles of this generation.
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Now that we are just over one year into this new console generation, one thing has been made clear; Microsoft and Sony have wildly different strategies to ensure a competitive advantage over the other.
Whilst Microsoft’s focus has been on expanding the Gamepass library to eventually make it the no brainer subscription service choice, Sony has been building up its library of exclusive titles that can only be played on one platform. Both approaches seem to be hugely successful as Gamepass has seen constant praise for its low price whilst committing to adding first-party titles on day 1 at no extra cost. On the other hand, Sony has delivered hugely recognisable games over the years that even non-gamers have been interested in such as Marvel’s Spider-Man and The Last of Us.
Given the wealth of unexpected acquisitions and strong offerings from both parties, Sony and Microsoft could learn a lot from one another to continue the momentum they have built thus far.
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Sooner or later Sony will need to find an answer to Xbox Gamepass and if reports are to be believed, a new service codenamed “Spartacus” is being worked on and could be revealed very soon (https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-12-03/playstation-plans-new-service-to-take-on-xbox-game-pass). We still don’t know what this subscription service will offer, but it needs to be substantially better than the PlayStation Now solution currently in place.
Considering Xbox allows players to enjoy older titles via backwards compatibility, it feels almost archaic that PlayStation fans are relegated to relying on Cloud streaming to enjoy the same games. A recent patent was filed by Sony that would involve dynamically changing the processor clock speed to mimic older hardware, so this could be the first step in solving this problem.
The other attractive benefit to Xbox Gamepass is the ability to play first-party exclusives on day 1 at no extra cost. As Sony upped the cost of first-party games to £70 to coincide with the launch of the PS5, it is highly unlikely Spartacus will be able to compete with Gamepass on that front. That being said, there is still plenty of room for Sony to improve its subscription practices to reach a wider audience. Whether that’s by bringing more attractive games to the platform, solving the backwards compatibility issue, or even launching Spartacus on PC too, only time will tell.
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Being able to play games spanning all Xbox console generations is a fantastic draw for Gamepass but over at Stock Checker, we’ve noticed that the PS5 seems to be the much more sought-after console. So why is this the case? In part, it could be due to Gamepass being available across both Xbox and PC meaning players have more flexibility over where they want to play. However, it is equally important to provide a constant stream of new exclusive experiences to bolster the value of the console itself and this is something that Sony is undoubtedly winning at for now.
Looking at the first year of both consoles, PlayStation clearly delivered more heavy hitters such as Demon’s Souls, Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, Returnal, Spider-Man: Miles Morales, and more to give players new experiences constantly. On the other hand, Microsoft’s two biggest exclusives, namely Forza: Horizon 5 and Halo: Infinite, only launched at the tail end of 2021 with only smaller titles leading up to their launch.
We know that Microsoft has been heavily investing in the acquisition of new studios over the past few years, including Ninja Theory (Hellblade), Double Fine (Psychonauts), and groundbreaking publishers ZeniMax Media (The Elder Scrolls, Fallout) and Activision (Call of Duty) but it could take some time to truly see the payoff of these purchases. It’s been almost two years since Microsoft’s Xbox Series X reveal where they announced new AAA titles such as Fable and Avowed but we don’t even have a release window for either of these titles yet. That being said, Xbox fans should have plenty to look forward to later this year when Starfield finally releases with S.T.A.L.K.E.R. 2 following shortly after, so it’s possible we could start to see momentum pick up moving into 2023.
If you’re struggling to purchase a PlayStation 5 Disc Edition or Digital Edition console due to chip shortages and high demand, causing retailers to constantly sell out, head over to our PS5 stock tracking page, and you’ll be notified via audio alerts (desktop only) by clicking the red bell icon at the bottom left corner of your screen.
PlayStation 5 Disc Edition: https://stock-checker.com/products/playstation-5.html
PlayStation 5 Digital Edition: https://stock-checker.com/products/playstation-5-digital.html
Images used in this article belong Sony Interactive Entertainment and Microsoft Corporation.