- Microsoft admitted for the first time that Sony’s PS4 outsold its Xbox One by twice as much.
- Sony seems to be winning the sales race against Microsoft with the new generation of consoles, too.
- But the gaming industry is facing a slowdown after a pandemic boom.
Microsoft finally acknowledged for the first time what many have already known for years: that Sony’s PlayStation 4 drastically outsold its Xbox One.
In court documents in Brazil, Microsoft admitted that the PS4 sold “twice as many” units as the Xbox One.
“Sony has surpassed Microsoft in terms of console sales and installed base, having sold more than twice as many Xbox in the last generation,” the company said.
Microsoft stopped reporting sales for the Xbox One starting in 2016. But 2017 data from the now-shuttered gaming-analysis company SuperData Research showed that Microsoft had sold 26 million consoles at the time, compared to the 60 million PS4 consoles that Sony had sold.
The PS4 cots $400 at launch, while the One initially cost $500 (they both launched in 2013). The PS4 also had enticing exclusives, such as “The Last of Us Remastered” and “Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End.”
Sony also seems to be winning the sales race with the new generation of gaming consoles.
Sony had sold 17 million PS5 consoles to consumers by the end of 2021, the research firm Ampere Analysis estimated. It also estimated that Microsoft had sold 10 million Xbox Series consoles by the end of the year, on par with the One at the same point after its launch.
And Sony recently said it had sold 20 million PS5 consoles as of June since launching, despite supply shortages.
But while gaming saw a boom during the pandemic, the industry is facing a slowdown. Both Microsoft and Sony reported declining revenue in their most recent quarters.
A July report from Ampere Analysis estimated that global game sales would decline 1.2% this year compared to last year, after years of growth.
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