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Xbox Series X/S consoles continue to sell at a record pace, Microsoft has claimed

IbizaPocholo

NeoGAFs Kent Brockman

Having launched in November 2020, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella said in July 2021 that Xbox Series X/S were the company’s fastest selling consoles ever.

And in a New York Times interview published on Monday, Microsoft’s gaming boss Phil Spencer said that was still the case.

He claimed persistent Xbox shortages were not actually a result of less consoles being produced than was the case in previous generations. Instead, scarcity has been caused by a surge in demand since the onset of the Covid-19 pandemic.

“Back in, what would it have been—March, April of 2020—we sold out of consoles, which we never do, in April and May. Because you had this sudden swell of usage,” he said.

“Our networks were tapped as people were coming on. And the team worked hard to fulfill that demand. And in some ways, we’re still trying to do this.

“When you think about trying to go get an Xbox or a new PlayStation right now in the market, they’re really hard to find,” Spencer continued. “And it’s not because supply is smaller than it’s ever been. Supply is actually as big as it’s ever been. It’s that demand is exceeding the supply for all of us.

“At this point, we’ve sold more of this generation of Xboxes, which is Xbox Series X and S, than we had any previous version of Xboxes. So it’s our job to get the supply there to meet that demand.”
 

Sosokrates

Report me if I continue to console war
Nice

on January 23, 2014, Microsoft announced that 3.9 million Xbox One units had been shipped worldwide.

And the 360 sold around 10million by the end of 2006.

So that puts Xbox Series S/X at 10mill+
Maybe something like 12million.

I see 360 like figures, with a good chance of them being even higher, and the crazy thing is XGS's is only getting started.
 

Topher

Gold Member
There have been more Xbox Series X|S consoles sold at this point in their life cycle than during the equivalent periods for any previous Xbox console, Microsoft has revealed.

In an interview with the New York Times, Microsoft's Phil Spencer discussed how hard it currently is to find a PlayStation 5 or an Xbox Series console. He says it's not because supply is lower than it has been in the past, but that demand is so much higher.

"At this point, we’ve sold more of this generation of Xboxes, which is Xbox Series X and S, than we had any previous version of Xboxes. So it’s our job to get the supply there to meet that demand," explained Spencer.

The global COVID-19 pandemic accelerated interest in gaming as more people stayed home. Spencer says, "The swell in usage in gaming was a surprise to us. Back in — what would it have been — March, April of 2020 — we sold out of consoles, which we never do."

Here, Spencer is talking about the Xbox One. In July 2020, Microsoft also announced that One X and One S All-Digital Editions would be discontinued ahead of the Series X|S launch. The demand for gaming consoles has been so high that even last generation PlayStation 4 consoles have increased in price.

Despite shortages of consoles last year, Microsoft says that the Xbox Series X|S is the fastest-selling Xbox ever. In 2022, there's plenty of new content that Xbox Series owners can look forward to, such as Redfall and Starfield.

 

Yamisan

Member
I've never seen a Series X in stock, but I've seen tons of Series S in every store. Some with huge discounts.

It will be interesting to see how well they are selling, but we won't know until the end of generation because there's no way Microsoft will unveil any numbers unless they were winning.
gamestop.com just had the series x in stock for almost a week straight, I got mine this way.
 

Sosokrates

Report me if I continue to console war
Gotta hand it to Phil Spencer. All the moves his team made are paying off for them. As someone that was out of the Xbox ecosystem since the OG, they got me back on board this gen. I imagine that's been the case for a lot of people with Series S/X.
Everything is pointing to Xboxs best gen yet
To put things into perspective they have 5x the first party studios as the 360 gen.
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
recursive recursive Xbox One sold 55m units with a pretty shit first party. You think 80m is out of the realm of possibility when they’ve gone from 5 first party studios to 25, including Bathesda?

sesame street k GIF
 
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Sosokrates

Report me if I continue to console war
I just told you. Good luck with your prediction. It is customary for people to laugh during discourse. Sorry if I offended you.

Oh, you think the idea of series consoles selling as well as 360 is funny.

Ok.. but what do you think series consoles will sell? If they do 12mill a year after a 7yr gen thats 84 million which is what the 360 sold by jan 2014, and 2021 was still only a cross gen year.
 

recursive

Member
recursive recursive Xbox One sold 55m units with a pretty shit first party. You think 80m is out of the realm of possibility when they’ve gone from 5 first party studios to 25, including Bathesda?
Are you telling me there are 25m people who want bethesda games? Where did all those gamers go after 360 gen?

I agree xbox is in a better place then last gen but I am cautiously optimistic. I like my xbox but I just don't see them hitting those numbers this generation.
 

recursive

Member
Oh, you think the idea of series consoles selling as well as 360 is funny.

Ok.. but what do you think series consoles will sell? If they do 12mill a year after a 7yr gen thats 84 million which is what the 360 sold by jan 2014, and 2021 was still only a cross gen year.
I think it unlikely. Calm down. Lower your shield fair warrior. This isn't a personal attack. I just don't agree with your opinion.
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
Are you telling me there are 25m people who want bethesda games? Where did all those gamers go after 360 gen?

I agree xbox is in a better place then last gen but I am cautiously optimistic. I like my xbox but I just don't see them hitting those numbers this generation.
Skyrim sold 30m copies alone, throw in Doom, Fallout and Wolfenstein and yeah, I could see them attracting an extra 25m players (especially when you throw in Obsidian). I think you’re underestimating just how big Bethesda are.
 
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Sosokrates

Report me if I continue to console war
Are you telling me there are 25m people who want bethesda games? Where did all those gamers go after 360 gen?

I agree xbox is in a better place then last gen but I am cautiously optimistic. I like my xbox but I just don't see them hitting those numbers this generation.

They purchased PS4s/PCs/switches.

But yes, people will buy a console for its games, Zenimax is one arm of MGS, along with 17 other studios.
Its the same reasons people purchased a PS4 or 360.

The most important derterming factor for a gaming platforms sucess is its games and Xbox has the largest first party in the history of the industry.
 
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Stuart360

Member
Skyrim sold 30m copies alone, throw in Doom, Fallout and Wolfenstein and yeah, I could see them attracting an extra 25m players (especially when you throw in Obsidian). I think you’re underestimating just how big Bethesda are.
Skyrim is actually around 40mil now, and Fallout 4 hit 25 mil 3 years ago, so should be around 30mil now if not more.
I think that guy has a thing against Bethesda, just judging from his post history.

Xbox have the studios now, and have a lot of positivity arond them. Complete opposite on both cases to the XB1, which had probably the most negativity around a major product i had seen, and it STILL sold around 55mil.
Yeah i'm going to stick to my 70-80mil prediction but 360 numbers certainly is in the realms of possibility.
 

Banjo64

cumsessed
Over 2 generations including multiple platforms.

I don't think I am under estimating anything.
I do. TES and Fallout are amongst the biggest franchises in the industry sales wise. That’s not even factoring in the other 10+ studios MS acquired. 80m is guaranteed for this gen.

Skyrim smashed all sorts of record even when it wasn’t released over 2 generations, like nearly hitting 4m copies sold in 2 days.
 
They purchased PS4s/PCs/switches.

But yes, people will buy a console for its games, Zenimax is one arm of MGS, along with 17 other studios.
Its the same reasons people purchased a PS4 or 360.

The most important derterming factor for a gaming platforms sucess is its games and Xbox has the largest first party in the history of the industry.

Yeah but xBoX hAz No GaMeZz
 
I do. TES and Fallout are amongst the biggest franchises in the industry sales wise. That’s not even factoring in the other 10+ studios MS acquired. 80m is guaranteed for this gen.

Skyrim smashed all sorts of record even when it wasn’t released over 2 generations, like nearly hitting 4m copies sold in 2 days.
It's amazing how Bethesda immediately stopped being a massively popular studio the second they became Xbox exclusive (not specifically talking about that user, just in general on video game forums)
 

Stuart360

Member
It's amazing how Bethesda immediately stopped being a massively popular studio the second they became Xbox exclusive (not specifically talking about that user, just in general on video game forums)
I was talking about this the other day. A few weeks a go i saw 2 people say in conversation on here about bad companies in gaming, companies that gamers could do with out. EA and Ubisoft was mentioned of course, but Bethesda was too ,and the thing is it wasnt even said in a console war kind of way, it was said totally unironically.
It just shows how bullshit talk can spread and change narratives.
 
No numbers as always.
The only people the exact numbers should matter to are the people who already know the numbers. We know they're doing well, better than they've ever done, that's all that matters, unless you just want to point out how it's less than PS5, in which case I could see how it could be frustrating to not know by just how much your plastic box is winning
 

dotnotbot

Member
The only people the exact numbers should matter to are the people who already know the numbers. We know they're doing well, better than they've ever done, that's all that matters, unless you just want to point out how it's less than PS5, in which case I could see how it could be frustrating to not know by just how much your plastic box is winning
This is topic about sales. I want to know what are the sales, simple. Otherwise this is just a PR statement that can be wrong or misleading.

Why even defend such insincerity by MS? Others can release sales numbers of their products, it's totally normal, why MS can't and what is the point of defending that?
 

Kagey K

Banned
This is topic about sales. I want to know what are the sales, simple. Otherwise this is just a PR statement that can be wrong or misleading.

Why even defend such insincerity by MS? Others can release sales numbers of their products, it's totally normal, why MS can't and what is the point of defending that?
Even if they did suddenly decide to release a number it wouldn't be through a random podcast.

He was asked a question and answered it.
 

Topher

Gold Member
Over 2 generations including multiple platforms.

I don't think I am under estimating anything.

Starfield, TES, and Doom alone are going to be enough for a significant number of PS console gamers to want Xbox this gen. Without those games, even Xbox One S|X (as pathetic as it was) sold somewhere in the 50-60 million range. Now we are in a world where demand for gaming is at record levels and consoles cannot keep up. Yeah, I'd say you are underestimating quite a bit. I could be wrong, but I wouldn't bet on it.
 

Codes 208

Member
Probably has to do with the huge restock recently. I actually found several in the wild (first time since last march)
 
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Now that I think about it. It benfits the console makers that people dont get vaccinated. More variants the better.

Sony needs to release that VR headset as soon as possible. If they wanna ride this pandemic.
 

mckmas8808

Banned
Well i predicted S/X selling around the 70-80mil range before launch, just missing 360's numbers, but they could well beat 360 by the end of the gen as i'm sure the gen will last a year or two longer than orig planned due to Covid and supply constraints.

So it's safe for all of us to admit that console sales do matter for Microsoft right? No more of that silly "Microsoft is playing a different game and numbers don't matter anymore" stuff right?
 
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