The latest industry reports indicate that the Xbox Series was the best-selling hardware platform in both March 2022 and the first quarter of the year in dollars. The Nintendo Switch is leading both periods in unit sales, leaving Sony and its PlayStation 5 far behind.
Microsoft is breaking its records in both unit and dollar sales for the month of March. The previous Xbox records for that month dated back to March 2011 in terms of units sold, and March 2014 for its revenue in dollars. The Xbox Series is now selling more than the Xbox 360 and Xbox One.
Overall, the video game hardware dollar sales in the U.S. dropped 24% when compared to last year, for a total of $515 million. The first quarter of hardware sales declined by 15% compared to 2021, reaching $1.2 billion.
The main reason for this decline is the lack of console supplies. The pandemic caused console shortages across the world, as the companies are struggling to get enough microchips for their consoles. Production slowed down because of lockdowns, while the global demand for electronics continued to increase. As there are not enough microchips to meet the demand, this causes major shortages – including for consoles.
The PlayStation 5 was more impacted by these shortages than the Xbox Series X and S. Microsoft invested heavily in chip production to make sure they wouldn’t run out of Xbox, and this strategy seems to be paying off. The PlayStation 5 is still in high demand, but Sony cannot keep up with the demand. This leads to Sony selling fewer consoles than Microsoft, despite the popularity of its PlayStation 5.
As the microchip shortage will eventually come to an end, the balance between Xbox Series and PlayStation 5 sales may change during the year.
