Xbox Series X|S vs Xbox One Sales Comparison - October 2023

October 2023 is the 36th month the Xbox Series X|S has been available for. In the latest month, the gap grew in favor of the Xbox One when compared to the aligned launch of the Xbox Series X|S by 0.39 million units.

In the last 12 months, the Xbox One has outsold the Xbox Series X|S by 2.59 million units. The Xbox Series X|S is currently behind the Xbox One by 580,234 units.

[S2Killinit]

That is crazy. xbox Series x/s is falling even behind the xbox one. MS in big trouble.

[Hofstaderman]

Yup and lets not forget series S makes up 75% of all Series sales. Does not bode well at all for MS.

[DarXyde]

Nah. Microsoft is a lot of things, but not "in trouble".

They are, at their core, a software company. Operating systems, plugins, software suites, etc.

Is Xbox in trouble? They're not leaving gaming, that's a given. It's the largest entertainment industry in the world, if I recall. I don't think they're going to maintain Xbox as hardware, personally. The recent rumblings of a hybrid platform says to me that they're grooming their audience to transition to a hardware-free future.

If they figure out digital rights with purchases, seems like a good transition, but I certainly cannot imagine they will keep at it with hardware.

[repsahj]

Good thing they have a parent company with an unlimited budget. That's why they're still in the console business, even with so many failures and always losing to competition.

[S2Killinit]

Not sure why you are getting disagrees. Very well articulated analysis imo.

And yes, I meant xbox as a console is in trouble. I also believe MS wants to transition its base to accept a future without consoles.

[DarXyde]

@repsahj,

It definitely helps. They're the antithesis to Sony where PlayStation is really the MVP of Sony but Xbox is not the MVP of Microsoft. In my view, the reason they didn't exit gaming as a whole was because the Xbox 360 was a great console and their best selling (ignoring the hardware problems, of course). I suspect that because this was during Ballmer's tenure at MS. Ballmer was super reactionary and cancelled things when they didn't pan out. If the Xbox 360 failed, I think that would've been it, especially without the publisher infrastructure they have today. Now, with the pT sink fetus (Satya Nadella) at the helm, the company has shifted to licensing over purchasing, and recurring costs have become standard: MS Office, XGP, Azure cloud... It is certainly a more modern strategy and is likely to work out in their favor, especially for businesses. Microsoft is a deeply problematic entity in my opinion, though their current strategy isn't likely to hit a wall any time soon. But as you've mentioned, MS proper can always subsidize the Xbox division. Services like Office 365 are too important for compatibility across shared documents between businesses and such. Those cloud servers are also pretty useful. XGP is entertainment and less necessary, but it doesn't really matter if you need Office or Azure, does it? Microsoft is engaged in a blinking contest and they're the only ones in this with hydration drops.

@S2Killinit,

I appreciate that, mate. I do wish people would articulate their disagreements instead of down voting without bothering to explain, but it is what it is. And yes, we are in simpatico: you cannot convince me that Microsoft isn't looking digitize as much as possible. I think they'll take it one step further and really push exclusively for streaming one day in the future. Why wouldn't they? You remove any need for DRM, you can only access games when connected to their servers, and piracy impossible as you depend on their servers. It really fits with the modern idea that "you will own nothing and be happy." Whether it's your movies, your games, your home, your applications, etc., you've got nothing, but you'll passively accept it because "it's cheaper than buying all of this separately" and it can be accessed without download immediately, caveat being the eventual end to ownership and, frankly, a substantial threat to game preservation.

[Hofstaderman]

I agree. MS as GamePass is not going away. Their consoles are a thing of the past and the writing is clearly on the wall. Its become apparent since Phil's big interview.

[recoctimocassirnff]

I agree with most of what you said, Dar. Ms is a cancer, and cancer doesn't just leave the body on it's own volition.

But I'm not sure why you think ms will "figure out digital rights". Why on earth would ms give more rights to consumer when, one, they don't have to, and two, their MO is to take as many rights away from the consumer that they can get away with?

[DarXyde]

Recoctimicassirnff,

I don't really disagree with you at all in your assessment of my mentioning of them "figuring out digital rights". I have no doubt that all of these companies are content with preventing outright ownership. It's a sense you definitely feel when platform holders say things like "we look forward to you playing it" which I really think is in contrast to "we hope you buy it."

Ultimately, Microsoft is the most dangerous in this regard. Now, they're pretty much in a position to tank any negative feedback. If they decide it's the only way you get to play CoD or Diablo or Elder Scrolls VI, well, who's going to stop them? And are people really that principled? Personally, I'm fine with telling any company to sod off. I would quit gaming before I support anything I don't agree with. Buy my sense is most people aren't.

And so, to your point, you're right. They will very likely do nothing to "figure out digital rights", simply because they've got F You money and F You influence in the industry. It's frustrating because they have a lot of power to architect the industry in their image with the most recent acquisitions and the Xbox community has largely, in my view, been remiss in their willingness to hold them accountable.

[fr0sty]

Microsoft isn't in trouble, but Xbox as a brand, and especially as a console, is.

[gold_drake]

ms as a cooperation is fine ... but im pretty sure the xbox branch is in damger.

i still dont know how phil has a job still.

[Knightofelemia]

Bring out the games to fully entice the gamer into actually buying your system. XB1 was dry with exclusives and this new generation of Xboxes is also dry on exclusives as well. No wonder why you're dead last there are no exclusives.

[Crows90]

Exactly. We are how many years in now...nothing exceptional yet.

Since the PS5 released gamers on PlayStation have had tremendously well received games nothing mixed like Starfield.

I mean Xbox has yet to challenge PS5 1st year with games like

Demons souls
Miles Morales
Returnal
Ratchet and clank

[cthulhucultist]

Well to be fair they brought this to themselves.

After three years in the market, we saw very few exclusive games and consoles are all about games.

Add to this the fact that their games and Game pass are available on PC and you got some real trouble hardware sales wise.

They could still go third party but this i do not want as It will allow too much room for Sony to dominate market as the Switch does not compete directly.

We will have to wait and see because they own multiple studios and the game output along with their sales, may increase

[Crows90]

It will increase. Once all their recently bought studios get their games out it's going to be a landslide...whether or not the games are actually any good we have no idea...but with numbers alone...Xbox should clearly outpace Sony's output. Only because they bought out so many studios of course.

[dveio]

Personally, and that's just me, I don't even really get the difference between Gamepass and PS Plus also, because many people, even at Microsoft, said it's not about hardware sales anymore.

Maybe it's because I am buying physical copies anyway.

Everytime I scroll through the free games catalogue in the PSN, personally, and again that's just me, I am getting exhausted.

I've got 150+ games saved to my library since I do own a subscription. Of course I save the games, but I just don't have the time to play them, or even the motivation to to begin with.

Well, appearantly the only difference I see are day one games in the Gamepass.

I wonder for how long Microsoft is going to invest these huge sums that were leaked months ago in this feature.

When the rival console sells at a 3 to 5:1 ratio worldwide compared to your own console, when your hardware sales are already plummeting by 50% year on year, when other stores like Steam, EGS, GOG, PSN are out there too, and when you didn't have any outstanding (not just good) exclusives for your own home console before, even rendering its praised 12TF useless (as of today), then that's a tough business playground.

I don't have any clue what's the real strategy or position of Xbox in the gaming market today. If you look at Nintendo or Sony, wether you feel attracted to them or not, you see a strategy.

I personally, when looking at Xbox, see nothing but billions of dollars being thrown around and the CEO talking this, while the head of Xbox talking that.

Man, what a chaotic place they've managed to put the brand Xbox in again.

[Ironmike]

There is difference a lot new games ho on gamepass they don't on plus but apart from that I dont see much difference I agree with most of ur points

[S2Killinit]

Thats not all true. Game pass day one games are few and far between. If you look at the list of day one games released on both systems you will notice that PS Plus also has them.(just not first party games) Considering how long MS has been banging the drums about “day one”, you will notice that they actually delivered very few day ones during all that time.

[mrcatastropheAF]

@S2Killinit and where is the list you're referencing...been a couple of day one bangers this year that weren't first party games on GP....the most recent one being Lies of P

[gold_drake]

wow, how did that even happen.

i mean i guess we know but damn.

[Crows90]

Oh geez...where's obscure talking about how Xbox is killing it this gen...

They obviously clearly are not killing it.

[Hofstaderman]

They are, in fact getting killed. No...murdered. In their beds....

[ironmonkey]

Disgustingly low, that some dollar general shit.

[frostypants]

They need to stop mixing console numbers. The S and X are not one platform.

[KwietStorm_BLM]

Trending below Xbox One is very.. not good.

[Father__Merrin]

Series xs sales are. Low looks like people don't want them which is a shame. Even though I'm an ardent PS fan I've found more time on series x

[Rimeskeem]

You know it's bad when Obscure won't even comment on this trying to spin it. Xbox as a console is failing.

[jznrpg]

Well deserved.

[DivineHand125]

The sale figures are not surprising. Low output of 1st party games and little to no marketing of the platform.

Hopefully we will finally get that must have exclusive in 2024 and have a steady flow of releases from their first party studios. They also need to market the Xbox. I have seen many ads for playstation but none in the past year. Influencers on youtube also make many references to playstation over the Xbox and I don't think Sony is paying them to do that. There is just no excitement on the Xbox side.

[Chevalier]

I'm not so sure about Xbox needing ads. I have definitely seen some here and there. I think it's a bigger problem that they don't have games.

Nintendo and Playstation both have big games pretty regularly that you hear people talking about whether it's new Zelda, Pokemon, GoW, FF, or heck even Fifa or whatever.

There's people telling friends what they're playing or they're already playing with friends on those systems.

But I agree on the no excitement on the Xbox side.

[outsider1624]

Where's Obscure defence for this. He's always in other articles downplaying Sony.