Xbox Series X Sales Are Trailing Both Xbox One And 360

Meanwhile, the PS5's sales are leading the PS4's in the same amount of time.

[Vits]

That would be the Xbox Series sales as a whole, not just the Series X. If we consider the latter in isolation, based on those leaked documents, it should be trailing behind the Dreamcast, Wii U, and PS Vita, let alone the much more successful Xbox 360 and Xbox One.

And it's also what the original source claims: "Xbox Series trails Xbox One by 13% and remains slightly behind Xbox 360". So I would suggest for the article to be corrected.

[Rude-ro]

How is it slightly behind the 360 when the Xbox one never passed the 360 at all?

[Plague-Doctor27]

Its launch aligned. The 360 had pretty decent sales numbers at the end of its lifespan due to Kinect which is where the One really trailed off as it had no legs. That late gen success is partly why they went so hard on the Kinect at the Xbox One reveal

[Vits]

It's a curve of sales over time. Currently, within the same timeframe, Xbox Series sales are slightly behind Xbox 360 sales, whereas Xbox One sales were actually slightly ahead of Xbox 360 sales within the same timeframe.

Here a example: https://www.vgchartz.com/ar...

It's a bit concerning that people don't seem to understand this.

[S2Killinit]

Its crazy that xbox is less and less relevant with every generation.

[got_dam]

It really is too bad. Competition is important. Nintendo is not really Competition. Sega is out of the console business. The OG xbox was fucking awesome. 360 too. It's too damn bad MS can't stay out of their own fucking way.

[Vits]

It's sort of impressive how they manage to pull it off. This generation seems to be the worst for Sony in terms of output, with fewer games being developed and released than in any previous console generation. It should have been the perfect opportunity for Microsoft to gain market share through partnerships and game development with their numerous studios. Instead, they have somehow managed to perform even worse.

At this point, one has to wonder if they are intentionally trying to fail.

[S2Killinit]

I think the slow down in game developments has been across the board, not just for Sony. I think the console shortages put a hiccup in development. But it also doesnt help that MS never developed its own studios.

[jznrpg]

It seemed probable with all the crappy moves and wait for E3’s.

[Profchaos]

It's no surprise PlayStation is the market leader you can't just do what they do and expect success it's why Nintendo is still relevant and has put out the 2nd best selling console of all time with the switch.

There's no longer anything unique about Xbox gamepass there's barely any unique software and the identity they spent two generations fostering was killed off in one foul swoop and never recovered

[Hotpot]

MS is a service provider trying to get into game industry, while PS and Nintendo are game companies trying to grow their size. The principal behind those two are different and it was apparent in their strategies over the years.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Yikes that's bad

[raWfodog]

Not good at all but expected since Xbox is not actively pushing their console sales anymore in favor of more ‘game anywhere’ GP subscriptions. I wonder if this will affect future plans for the next console. I can’t imagine them pumping a bunch of R&D into it if they not gonna be marketing and actively trying to push sales.

[shinoff2183]

That's fairly recent though. They haven't pushed just that this whole gen.

[derek]

Xbox has no say in this whether they are pushing the console or not. They were on the downward trend in the xbox1 gen, this is a continuation.

[Rude-ro]

They have never put a lot of cash in console r&d.
It is and always has been basic computer parts.

Microsoft is not a manufacturing company…
Nor are they game developing company.

They are a marketing company with global monopoly on an os system.

Eventually reality catches up.
Their gamepass had no chance when they go more than a decade not making any new and innovative ips.
This is why they are absorbing game developers…
But by doing so, they also spend all of their financial gains.
Ie you either make games to make money, or you spend your money absorbing companies with ips and leaving nothing left to put into future game development.

Developers were not biting to put their games on a subscription service for Microsoft.
Microsoft had nothing of their own to put in their gamepass.
Now they have no money to put into anything at all.

Microsoft’s only blessing this gen is that the pandemic hit everyone so hard, Sony has been forced to cut budgets as well and thus been rather quiet with amazing AAA exclusives compared to previous generations.
Once Sony is back in full swing…
Microsoft will only have their gamepass library of old games to brag about because THE only way to make CoD attractive through a subscription is to offer access to ALL content, seasons and micro transactions, at no extra cost to the gamer.
Of which would not happen.

[DivineHand125]

All of this is self-inflicted damage from Microsoft and Xbox. Contrary to what many fanboys believe, gamepass doesn't harm the industry or create a culture of people not wanting to buy games.

People will buy games if they believe it is worth it or if another game is not already occupying their time. The most popular games on Xbox are live service games and a service like gamepass will have no value to those people.

[shinoff2183]

Divinehand125

Gamepass absolutely does. Ms themselves owned up to this during the court proceedings. Some developers won't even make games for Xbox. Now do to this. People most certainly stopped buying games, and only play what's on gamepass. I know a few of them. Hell im one of them, but that more becasue ms trying to kill physical, i wont support that by buying games. At some point itll just be dev mode for me. Deny it all you want but it's a real thing, people stop buying games, especially compared to the others.

[DivineHand125]

It's understandable that people won't buy their exclusive games because it is on game pass but what about the games that are not on gamepass?
Has game pass stopped you from buying games on other platforms?

[shinoff2183]

Divinehand125

I buy Hella games. Just not on Xbox. Ms is single handily trying to kill physical media. My preferred method of gaming. Look no further then sales. Almost all of Xbox sales are digital, to the point they didn't even release hellblade physically.

You can play the card all you want but you know full well we are talking about Xbox only gamers not buying games anymore due to games. Keep trying.

[Einhander1972]

1 Hogwarts Legacy Switch 41%, PS5 26%, PS4 24%, Xbox 5%

[DivineHand125]

That breakdown is flawed. Does it account for digital games sales and at least one person must of bought the game on PC?

The majority of series consoles being sold are the digital only variant so it is understandable the numbers will be skewed that way.

[purple101]

Post the others
Mortal kombat and FC24

There was a bloodbath

[stonecold3]

hogwarts legacy sold more on ps5 ps4 switch xbox..

[Plague-Doctor27]

https://x.com/TWTHEREDDRAGO...

Xbox gamers compared to PS5/Switch are significantly less likely to buy games. Xbox is a gamepass machine and xbox gamers are gamepass gamers. If you're game isn't f2p or on gamepass then xbox players will ignore it

[DivineHand125]

That statement is true because the Xbox has a significantly lower market share compared to the other 2 platforms. I don't take that statement about developers being asked their opinion on Xbox seriously because apart from small indie devs, I doubt the average developer is aware of the revenue and sales coming in everytime something is sold similar to how the average worker in a company has no idea how much revenue is coming in and how it is being spent.

I don't mean to insult the person who posed that question to developers but it can be seen as sloppy journalism as the answer they are looking for will not be accurate or asked to support a certain narrative. If I wanted to find out the answer to that question, I would ask an executive from a publisher who has access to the financials and who is sitting in boardroom meetings that can help us feel the sentiment around that topic.

[shinoff2183]

Xbox. Players weren't buying games when the marketshare between the two were pretty close due to shortages either. They haven't been buying games since gamepass. Ffs it isn't hard to understand. Stop trying to dance around it. Look that sh head on

[DivineHand125]

@shinoff2183 "Xbox. Players weren't buying games when the marketshare between the two were pretty close due to shortages either."

When the current Gen started, Xbox and PlayStation were never close, 99% of games were cross gen and it was PS4 and PS5 vs Xbox one and Xbox Series X/S. Playstation had a significant market share and I also didn't try to make any reference to that time people because all 3 console makers were making record profits during that time frame. Don't forget the charts Microsoft presented in the acquisition trials to support their case. It was a good time for them all around and not a true representation of what is happening now with Xbox seeing a significant decline in console sales.

[The Wood]

Bro. Full Stop

[XiNatsuDragnel]

The fanboyism and blatant lying is crazy

[Hofstaderman]

Don't forget the goalpost shifting. These deluded maniacs have a PHD in misdirection, denial and spin doctoring.

[XiNatsuDragnel]

Ong bro @Hofstaderman

[OlderGamer17]

Die hard Xboxfanboys are a sort of MAGAcult of gamers, does not matter how many times MS lies, they still stand behind THEM.

[DivineHand125]

I've noticed considerable pushback regarding the responses I've received thus far; however, there's no concrete evidence to support the claim that Xbox gamers don't purchase games or spend money on them. The data provided is either incomplete or inaccurate. I wish we could get a full picture; however, digital games are not tracked.

My initial argument is that Xbox gamers will purchase or spend money on games they deem worthy, and Game Pass may not achieve the success Microsoft anticipates. This is because the majority of their players are engaged in live-service games, leaving little time to for Game Pass titles.

Top Xbox games tracker US
https://www.microsoft.com/e...

Top Xbox games tracker UK
https://www.microsoft.com/e...

Examining the top games played on Xbox in both the US and the UK, according to Microsoft's own tracker, reveals that, with the exception of Minecraft and NBA2k24, none of the top 10 games are Game Pass titles. It's also possible that Minecraft players purchased the game as it was bundled with Xbox consoles and being sold long before the introduction of Game Pass. The other games are either live service titles or the usual suspects. Xbox will need to find a way to ramp up their install base if they wish to see growth in gamepass.

[shinoff2183]

Microsoft had documents from court stating as much. That game purchases are down by alot due to gamepass. All the info is out there. Developers stopping to even bother to develop for Xbox, or delaying only the Xbox version cause they want to get the switch and ps5 version out first. There's plenty of instances where it's written flat out, or easily deduced yall ain't buying games. Sure there's some of you but as a whole you guys have stopped. Period

[DivineHand125]

@shinoff2183 What the documents did was prove something we already knew. Gamers are less likely to buy a game they already have access to on the service. Games sales are reduced a year following their release.

In response to your other points, games get delayed on Xbox because developers want more time to get the series S version working.

Smaller games or games that have a partnership with Sony are also not going to go to Xbox.

The main point I see regurgitated on this site by many with baseless facts is that Xbox owners don't buy games or spend money outside of gamepass. The 2 lists I shared with the most played games proves my point as most of those games are not on gamepass.

[DivineHand125]

@shinoff2183 What the documents did was prove something we already knew. Gamers are less likely to buy a game they already have access to on the service. Games sales are reduced a year following their release.

In response to your other points, games get delayed on Xbox because developers want more time to get the series S version working.

Smaller games or games that have a partnership with Sony are also not going to go to Xbox.

The main point I see regurgitated on this site by many with baseless facts is that Xbox owners don't buy games or spend money outside of game pass. The 2 lists I shared with the most played games prove my point as most of those games are not on game pass.

[Berenger]

@DivineHand125 yep. It seems pretty obvious to me that this is what Phil Spencer means when he says "we are willing to play the long game."
The choices they make are so absurd that one has to wonder if they are intentionally downplaying consoles to actively hurt the PlayStation brand THAT way. By selling so poorly that the concept of exclusive games and, in fact, consoles, are seen as a negative constraint to game development that PlayStation seems "bad" for doing it and everyone should be multiplatform.

[anast]

They don't make games for it.

[SonyStyled]

Not surprising. Even the Xbox die hards here don’t recommend purchasing one. They used to be salesman trying to convince the crowd to switch over, but have since shifted to defense and hunker down protecting what’s left 🤣

[gold_drake]

u mean, only xbox one.

the xbox1 never outsold the 360

[MetroidFREAK21]

Lol

[S2Killinit]

In all honesty, do they really deserve any better? Look at what they have been up to… they are a plague on console gaming. They have proved that they only used console gaming as a trojan horse. MS is the worst. Ever.

[dveio]

What's suprising me the most is the deeper conclusion down under, between the lines (for me personally):

Going forward from the One and into the Series generation, they still must not had a clue what to do.

At the time of release of the Series X, all they had internally prepared was nothing but the acquisitions of former 3rd party IPs (Zenimax), GP, Forza and a lackluster Halo.

Then they went on buying out ABK - another 3rd party catalogue.

They couldn't bet on the ABK deal getting greenlit eventually. What would be the state of Xbox if it didn't get approved?

Hardware sales are nothing less but an indicator (a fairly good one) how a brand is being perceived, how much of anticipation exists for it.

Their hardware sales (and very early announcement of Xbox Next already) reflect that.

[MrNinosan]

Not Series X, but Xbox Series (both S and X combined)

[ChiefofLoliPolice]

I wonder why... Oh wait!

[SPEAKxTHExTRUTH]

Well since you can play all of MS’s games on PC or cloud you really don’t need a Xbox anymore. MS knows this and planned for it and in a small way contributed to this. Like who’s really surprised by this at this point?

[purple101]

Imagine getting GTA VI on anything other than PS5 Pro in 2025 😏

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

PC, definitely PC.

[MrNinosan]

In 2025?
GTAVI won't be on PC 2025

[TheColbertinator]

GTA6 won't be on PC until at least 2026. Rockstar Games goes after the console market first. Being a fan of theirs since 2001 I'm aware of their console preference.

[FinalFantasyFanatic]

I can honestly wait, I'm so inundated with games as it is, if I have to wait 6 months to 1 years plus, fine by me.

[jznrpg]

Xbox consoles were on decline during Xbox One generation and that decline is continuing with Xbox Series. Purchase of games were declining on Xbox as well during the same time so they thought they could improve profit and console purchases with renting games but that didn’t work so now it’s play anywhere rental gaming strategy. Full third party is the only move I see left or sell the entire division.

[PassNextquestion]

Everyone says competition is a good thing. Isn't gamepass just another competitor competing for your money. One would think this would help bring down the price of physical and digital games if it's as competitive as everyone keeps saying it is.

[MrDead]

How is MS's industry consolidation competition?

What MS is doing is making the industry less competitive. Three of the industries largest publishers merged and now no longer competing for sales. This is how industries stagnate.

[Miacosa]

It makes total sense as Games Pass is Microsoft's console now. With all Xbox games available on PC, Cloud, Smart TVs, and Firesticks people that might have bought a console to play a game now have the option to play elsewhere and dump out if it's not for them. Microsoft and Xbox are the first but given enough time all game consoles will eventually become a service application.

[Ninver]

Given it out for free at this point is the only to boost numbers lol

[OlderGamer17]

Diehard Xbox fanboys are a kind of MAGAcult of gamers, does not matter how many times MS screws up, does not matter how much they lie they will stand behind MS no matter what...

[Doomeduk]

" Dead console walking stand aside people give it room Dead console walking stand aside people "

[Malacath]

Can't say I'm surprised.

Xbox are terrible at advertising in the UK and Europe

It's exclusives are going over to playstation

And they literally have an advert telling people not to but an xbox but get a firestick instead.

Their actions have made it so that there is literally no reason to choose an Xbox over any other console now.

Anyone who thinks Xbox consoles have a long term future are delusional.

[TheColbertinator]

The Xbox Series X has so much potential. They should increase the price of the console.