Harding-Rolls notes that while sales of both the PS5 and Xbox Series X were held back due to ongoing stock shortages, Xbox managed to slightly increase its share of unit sales over the past year due to the more widely available Xbox Series S.
PS5 is a beast and now with no stock shortages, PS5 sales are going to skyrocket 🚀.
Very shameful how Microsoft has used the "we are the underdog with poor sales" narrative to justify them buying Activision. They didn't make the work, the sacrifices, the dedication, the games ... And now they want to "pay to win".
You mean how they bought studios that already made 95% of their games exclusively for Playstation already and what wasn't was trash, so pretty much nothing was lost on Xbox side.
Or you're parroting the lie microsoft made about Sony buying permanent exclusive rights without any proof. The truth is, Sony bought FF7R and FF16 rights for 6 months and the real reason it's not coming to Xbox is because Square-Enix doesn't give a **** about it. Microsoft claimed Sony is blocking them without any proof and you Xbox fanboys just believe their lies so easily, I mean how gullible can you be.
Then again, there is no reasoning with the Xbox fanbase, they live in their own delusion where they think Xbox matters more than they do when really, they're third place, they always will be and that's not going to change.
Imagine if Sony bought FromSoftware and kept their games off Xbox—that's what Microsoft did with Bethesda. I'd like to see how Xbox fanboys would react to that.
Care to address ms 3rd party exclusives onisama stop being so one sided like that call a spade a spade. Buying studios and publishers is two different things also. Anyway can you elaborate on ms 3rd party exclusives please
You guys really need to stop excusing MS ‘s every action. They are clearly trying to pull off something that is hurting the industry and gamers arguably including xbox owners. Stop following these guys to hell’s end, please.
I always found the "Sony buying permanent exclusives" argument to be a bit flimsy on its face. As I understand it, Sony tends to commission or collaborate on exclusives and there might be an argument there for games that would probably be multiplatform otherwise (Final Fantasy XVI comes to mind; it certainly has a more western appeal that may do well on Xbox). At the same time though, if these deals were happening, I just find it surprising that Microsoft has yet to call any of their partners to corroborate these claims. It is possible that there's some level of non-disclosure being enforced, but surely there is some way around explicitly stating what the competition is doing?
If I'm being charitable and playing devil's advocate here, while Microsoft has not called for support from developers to corroborate these claims...I don't see them denying it either.
Hmm. Either way, the burden of proof is on Microsoft in this case. That just seems like the obvious thing to do if you're saying these things.
@canthink We dont have to react to that we got square enix already ro react to... Also street fighter silent hill and many jrpgs.... And beleive me if sony did buy them they will be heroes and praised... This is how media works siding with the bigger community
But lets imagine xbox dropping out of gaming market that would be mpre intresting... With sony controlling 70% of market raising prices of gamea to 70$ remasters70$ chatging 10$ for what should be free next gen update paying for backward compatibility games even if you own them, raising prices of a 2yo console despite the lower cost of the new version of ps5... It will be intresting what a company can do if they got all the market and no compitition So keep hating xbox for no reason mybe someday you will be successful on breaking them and unlock the achievement.... And you get to see what a company can do
I actually have long said that I don't want Xbox to die off. I very much enjoy PlayStation, but a lack of competition is very dangerous. I don't like what Sony becomes when they get too comfortable. They've never gone back to early PS3 era hubris, but I think that pressure needs to be a permanent reminder to them.
To Sony's credit, they're pretty sensitive to the wrath of their fans. But I also think that pressure only works if they feel their fans have somewhere else to go.
Very shameful how Sony has used the "we are the underdog with low subscription sales for PS+ compared to Gamepass" narrative to justify MS not buying Activision.
See it applies to Sony as well, they also said none of their devs have the skills to create a CoD competitor, if that ain't playing the underdog I don't know what is.
They didn't make the work, the sacrifices, the dedication, the value... And now they wanna pay to block games from GP service.
Except youre completely off on ALL marks. They didnt downplay their sales. They said xbox has greater market share in the subscription service aspect and by making a huge 3rd party IP available or even exclsuive on that service would definitely impact their ability to compete.
All of which is true.
They didnt say their devs dont have talent to make good games...they only stated that it is not easy and very unlikely to create an IP like CoD that could compete with CoD effectively...look at Killzone and other fps theyve done. Theyve tried. You dont pay attention.
Their is more value in Ps extra so no...they did put the work, sacrifice and dedication. Their exclusive library easily outshines gamepass. Pretty much all ps5 exclusives are on PS extra...as well as the majority of ps4 exclusives.
"They didnt downplay their sales. They said xbox has greater market share in the subscription service aspect and by making a huge 3rd party IP available or even exclsuive on that service would definitely impact their ability to compete."
WTF, that is the same exact thing MS is saying about Sony's dominance and them being in 3rd place. They presented actual numbers, we all know this, and you call their facts downplaying. Here is what Sony said about GP, downplaying their service, which you say is better.
"Sony also commented on Game Pass, discussing their thoughts on the service and if they think anyone can compete. They say “Over the past five years, Microsoft’s Game Pass has grown to capture approximately 60-70% of the global subscription services market.” They are then asked what it would take to create a service that could compete with Game Pass, and say “it would take several years for a competitor – even with substantial investments – to create a rival effective for Game Pass.”
"They didnt say their devs dont have talent to make good games...they only stated that it is not easy and very unlikely to create an IP like CoD that could compete with CoD effectively...look at Killzone and other fps theyve done. Theyve tried. You dont pay attention."
Wow you twisted my words, I never said anything about good games, I and Sony said a Cod Competitor. Wow, you are reaching hard, and going against what Sony themselves said, and presented in their case. Read below.
"Sony continues to say that no other developers could acquire the expertise required to make a game like Call of Duty" My comment was purely based on the fact of what Sony said. none of their devs or any other has the Skill to make a CoD competitor....see I didn't make it up lol.
"Their is more value in Ps extra so no...they did put the work, sacrifice and dedication. Their exclusive library easily outshines gamepass. Pretty much all ps5 exclusives are on PS extra...as well as the majority of ps4 exclusives."
That is your opinion, and not even Sony agrees with you. I think you are the one not paying attention lol.
''And now they want to "pay to win".'' Who could blame them...MS learned long ago they can't compete with the PS popularity around the planet. They're trying so hard to stay relevant and be the main gaming platform one way or another. It's not gonna work though.
People really underestimate the global popularity of the PlayStation brand. You have to realize that gamers grew up playing some of the best IP's ever created on the platform and it practically shaped made their childhood.
The same gamers will forever buy a playstation console due to the fond memories of old and with confidence knowing Sony will always deliver on AAA games. THIS IS WHAT MS HAS BEEN LACKING FOR DECADES.
Even if the deal goes through Sony isn't just gonna lay there. Their probably working on something right now in a worse case scenario.
Still the truth is ms shouldn't be able to buy multillatform publishers. Sucks to say but studios is one thing. Obsidian , inxile, etc. Sony seems to gonafter studios that already make their games strictly for their platform why does ms have to buy up all these multiplatform companies. That's my issue. Why couldn't ms buy studios that developed mainly for Xbox.
@ Darth don't be so stupid, the point is anyone was going to be able to play the games, now a large portion cant. Very simple to see its anti consumer...don't make excuses for the billion dollar company.
“…the multi-tiered service strategy of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo meant that average spending per subscription grew 7% across the year (in $ terms) as consumers traded up to more expensive tiers.”
Interesting. More ppl opting for the Extra/Premium and Ultimate options? Perhaps some of those $1 deals are starting to expire and peeps are sticking around for the auto-renew?
“..Microsoft extended its market share lead in the console subscription segment and delivered an all-time high for Xbox Game Pass subscribers in the final three months of the year.”
It’s a good gifting idea. I don’t think you can gift to another country yet (eg. Canada to USA) but something popped those numbers.
Theres a free deal on PC through microsoft edge rewards. So no...that deal hasnt expired and anyone smart enough can easily take advantage. I wont pay a dime for the next 5-6 times I want to subscribe to PC gamepass. And thats right now....doesnt take into account any more points that I get between now and then.
Not sure about the $1 deal though...only used it once.
Perhaps the growth is more on the PS+ side then? I don’t know. The average spending per subscription grew 7%. Could be more ppl trying out Extra and Premium. Article doesn’t specify.
That’s two consoles. And no there’s no difference specs wise between the ps5 digital and disc sku. Even with the cheaper Series S Microsoft still can’t oust Sony. That not a monopoly, that’s consumer preference.
@dumahim They said something about the S charting while the PS5/XSX were unattainable, but interest is waning.
“However, the level of demand for Series S during the holiday season, even with pricing promotions, suggests that it does not have the high-end pull of its bigger brother.”
Probably under 50/50. The only chart I can see where the numbers are available is Japan and is 60% Series S, 40% Series X. If that's a worldwide trend (which is likely given X had stock issued at the start too) then it puts it at about 8 million Series X.
You say that but the PS5 is massive compared to the rest and it's been selling out constantly. The X is only about an inch taller than the S so that's quite negligible.
Right, the PS5 is huge. But they don't have an option for a small PS5. Both PS5 models are huge. With Xbox they have the option. So it's logical that they would pick the Series S. It's one of the reasons handhelds are more popular there, in addition to mobility.
@andy
Yeah the X is only about an inch taller, but it's more than double the width. Overall the S is 60% smaller. That makes a difference when large entertainment setups are highly uncommon compared to the West.
Not really I think it's even bigger then 55%. The series s was always available it's cheap was even cheaper at the holiday. I would go 10 million series s and 8 x.
If true, Developers can’t really afford to disregard the Series S. That’s kind of rough for Series X owners who want developers to take advantage of the power of the Series X.
''but why do gamers care?'' I see way too often this type of ''weird'' question especially from the green side (not you in particular) and the answer is simple, gamers, in this case care because if the company is not doing well their hobby might be affected, no more company, no more games from that company. Same goes for every business on this planet.
As soon as you said “from the green side” it tainted the rest of your comment for me. Gamers only care so they can brag about which company is doing better than the next. I’ve been gaming for a very long time and I’ve yet to see major gaming company I love go out of business. Not Nintendo, Not SEGA, not MS and not Sony. There’s too many what ifs and not enough what is. I personally only care my enjoyment when I play a game I don’t care about the business side of it.
Except Sega went out of the console business and Nintendo has changed and no longer competes on the same field...at least theyre still in the console business but damn do I remember Dreamcast, Sega Genesis and N64 fondly.
Maybe you havent gamed long enough, or choose to ignore, the awesome competition in titles available on the N64 and Dreamcast. Dreamcast and sega consoles are gone...
Yep. Suppose it pisses people off when people have any tried one and claim it's better. P people who have experienced both often go with PlayStation in the end. And now the controller got a fair bit Bigger with dualsense, whereas microsoft openly stated their series s/x controller is 3%-⁴% smaller≥ I feel that is another reason taken away to choose Xbox, because I know a lot of people used to say PlayStation controller was too small, well now the tables have turned on that too.
Hardware has nothing to do with it... It's the games, and where your friends are playing.
Also, this time around we have subscription services which are not a good deal for big publishers aka people not buying games.
So... more publishers will publish more games on a system that sells.
More games - more people, more people - more likely that your friends are getting that platform, more friends - more popularity, and more popularity - more countries are supported.
So yes, Playstation.
Xbox loosing market share big time, and they masked numbers with active GP accounts or live whatever.
The only way is to buy market with buying publishers... Meanwhile they don't produce their own games fast enough, or at all.
Or and yes...GP has value sure, but mostly for new people to the platform.
It's a hard sell for someone that already has 200 games on PS like myself.
Which actually translates to "less games for people who aren't exclusively in our ecosystem". Funny to say one thing and yet never once follow-through on that thing.
PS5 is a beast and now with no stock shortages, PS5 sales are going to skyrocket 🚀.
Very shameful how Microsoft has used the "we are the underdog with poor sales" narrative to justify them buying Activision. They didn't make the work, the sacrifices, the dedication, the games ... And now they want to "pay to win".
“…the multi-tiered service strategy of Microsoft, Sony and Nintendo meant that average spending per subscription grew 7% across the year (in $ terms) as consumers traded up to more expensive tiers.”
Interesting. More ppl opting for the Extra/Premium and Ultimate options? Perhaps some of those $1 deals are starting to expire and peeps are sticking around for the auto-renew?
“..Microsoft extended its market share lead in the console subscription segment and delivered an all-time high for Xbox Game Pass subscribers in the final three months of the year.”
It’s a good gifting idea. I don’t think you can gift to another country yet (eg. Canada to USA) but something popped those numbers.
Microsoft were so boastful about their numbers during Xbox 360
Now we have to rely on analysts to give numbers
That’s two consoles. And no there’s no difference specs wise between the ps5 digital and disc sku. Even with the cheaper Series S Microsoft still can’t oust Sony. That not a monopoly, that’s consumer preference.
Is there any sense of the split between S and X?