OPINION: Microsoft, Sony see major sales growth this generation | Styles

Microsoft, Sony see major sales growth this generation

The reports of the death of the video game have been greatly exaggerated.

Once upon a time, many industry speculators came to the conclusion that mobile gaming was going to overtake traditional console and PC gaming to become the defacto choice of the public. It was always a kneejerk idea, but it stuck around throughout the last console generation, especially as the Wii U failed and the Xbox One floundered. But after a pair of sales reports from Microsoft and Sony this week, mainstream console gaming is alive and well

— even in the midst of a worldwide chip shortage.

Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella told investors last week in a conference call that the Xbox Series S and Xbox Series X are “our fastest selling consoles ever, with more consoles sold life-to-date than any previous generation.” Microsoft no longer discloses individual unit sales, so it’s hard to get a handle on what this quote truly means. However, industry analyst Daniel Ahmad crunched the numbers, and it paints a pretty good picture for Microsoft, Xbox and its fans.

An estimated 6.5 million Xbox Series consoles have been sold since its November launch, as of June 30. That compares favorably to the estimated 5.7 million Xbox One consoles and 5 million Xbox 360 consoles sold in the same time frame. There are no good numbers for the original Xbox, which launched all the way back in 2001. There are some caveats to this data, however.

The Xbox One’s numbers may look more impressive than they are at first glance. Microsoft notoriously stuffed its shipments during the Xbox One launch in November 2013. Whether the company thought it would actually sell that many consoles, or whether it simply wanted to tout impressive numbers, the Xbox One did not actually sell that many consoles directly to customers in that time frame. Microsoft was eventually forced to burn off its initial launch of Xbox One consoles at fire sale prices to make way for a system that did not include the maligned Kinect camera. Sales also dropped off a cliff after the initial launch and didn’t recover until several years later — and even then, not completely.

The Xbox 360 was also notoriously supply-constrained for more than a year after its launch, though for different reasons than the current shortage. In 2005, its hardware was simply so far ahead of anything else that it was difficult to maintain production in order to satisfy demand.

Ultimately, the sales momentum of the Xbox Series is extremely impressive, especially coming off the mitigated disaster that was the Xbox One. Momentum is important in the video game industry, and the praise and favorable view of the Xbox 360 helped give its successor that initial boost before the public quickly abandoned it. That the Series consoles have shed the bad publicity of their predecessor says a lot about how great of a job Microsoft has done in kickstarting this new generation.

Sony, however, is in a whole different ballpark of sales. The PlayStation 4 was the fastest selling console during its first three years on the market. The PlayStation 5 has surpassed it, lapped it, and is continuing forward with unimaginable momentum. Sony announced last Wednesday that 10 million PS5 consoles have been sold since its November launch — an absolutely unheard of first-year total. And that’s in the midst of a major chip shortage that has hamstrung PS5 production since before launch.

The PS5 — like the Series consoles — is an impressive piece of hardware, and it’s good to see such success. Software sales have been impressive, too, as “Spider-Man: Miles Morales” has sold 6.5 million copies — outselling the original “Spider-Man” title in that same period. “Returnal,” developed by the recently acquired Housemarque, has sold 650,000 consoles — an impressive figure, considering the type of game it is. And the recently released “Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart” has sold more than 1.1 million copies in the last month. It’s now the fastest selling “Ratchet and Clank” title yet.

With the ongoing success of the Nintendo Switch, the industry is healthier than it’s ever been, and continues to grow and expand its base. Sure, the pandemic has played a part in the increased engagement. More people stuck at home with nothing to do means more people will turn to video games. But even as much of the country has reopened, all three manufacturers are experiencing unprecedented success. Hopefully, this momentum continues and the industry maintains its healthy status for years to come.

Josh Rouse lives in Lawton.