Scarcity and intractable nature Xbox Series X/S and PS5 It has become a meme over the past year. The new generation of hardware has lofty promises to consumers, but most people have a very simple problem: They just can’t get hold of those damn machines.
This won’t affect sales of available hardware, though. In a new interview with The New York Times, Microsoft confirmed that Xbox Series X/S systems continue to sell faster than any previous-generation Microsoft console. Take that, supply chain issues.
We know that the X/S series has been selling well for a while. Back in January last year, we heard that the Xbox Series X/S was the best-selling platform in the UK (though, the PS5 reportedly outsold the Series X/S 2:1 in the first quarter of the same year).
According to Xbox boss Phil Spencer in an interview, the shortage of Xbox Series X/S hardware actually has more to do with increased demand for the machine — not because of fewer consoles being produced compared to previous generations.
“Going back to March or April 2020, we sold out of consoles, and we never did. Because you have a sudden surge in usage,” he explained. “Our network was exploited as people came. The team worked hard to meet that need. In some ways, we’re still working on that.
“When you think about trying to get an Xbox or a new PlayStation in the market right now, they’re really hard to find. It’s not because the supply is smaller than ever. The supply is actually as big as ever. For all of us In other words, demand exceeds supply.”
Spencer goes on to point out that “we have”[Xbox has] This generation of Xbox (that is, the Xbox Series X and S) is selling more than any previous version of the Xbox we’ve ever had,” noting that the company’s job now is to “meet the needs of the consumer base.”
So what does this mean in terms of numbers? Niko Partner (Industry analyst) estimates that the Xbox Series X/S has shipped 12 million units of the Series X/S. its not bad, right?
Let’s see if Microsoft can maintain that momentum as this generation continues, and the company sees more competition in the hardware space from the likes of Sony, Nintendo, and Valve.
