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NPD August 2022: 5% Decline in SW, Double Digit growth in HW Rev. PS5 #1 in Unit and Revenue and Spider-man back at #3

Demand is still high.

Tired Bangladesh GIF by GifGari


It's normal to see supply boost sales in such a way. Really impressive though.
 
Honestly, MS will be overjoyed to where they are VS where they expected to be this gen. theres been multiple reports on various podcasts that speaking to a lot of MS staff that they didnt expect to be anywhere near as close to Sony this gen as they are. We all know, including them that this is solely down to Sony not being able to manufacture enough PS5s and series S performing crazy well in the pandemic. This is not going to be a 2 to 1 beating like last gen, Microsoft sees that as a massive win. Microsoft will never beat a worldwide number VS sony, its jjust not possible. Not for a long time if ever.

What is crazy is to see microsoft performing so well with having literally no first party big releases this year.

Sony has launched GT7, Horizon and soon to be god of war and it doesnt look like they are pulling away with 2 to 1 numbers etc. Xbox is still selling, and selling extremely well. All three majors are eating this generation and thats a win for all of them.

I cant wait to see what sony has for 2023 because we literally know nothing.

Who are these MS executives that have mentioned they didn't expect to be "anywhere near as close to Sony this gen"? I know I've seen Phil and maybe Aaron state they were impressed with Series S performance during those months, but if they were expecting to get curbstomped by PS this generation, that makes me pretty concerned about what plans they had in case the Zenimax and ABK acquisitions were never a thing.

Because such sentiment, I feel, probably would've been had prior to the launch, and it probably shows what level of confidence MS had in their then-acquired teams and software lineup in development. To think that even with Playground Games, Ninja Theory, Double Fine, Obsidian, Coalition, inXile etc. and games like FH5, Halo Infinite, Fable, Avowed, Hellblade II, Outer Worlds 2, Perfect Dark etc. in development...they may've expected to perform worst as a brand this generation relative to PS, compared to the XBO gen? I can understand having low confidence in Halo because of 343i, but the others? Not to mention, it just puts the Zenimax and ABK acquisitions in a whole different light where yes, maybe they were a necessity, but not out of confidence for what was being done prior to them.

As far as sales numbers are concerned, the Ampere numbers from earlier in the month put the sales ratio for PS5 and Xbox Series as 1.6:1, whereas when aligned for the same period last gen, the ratio between PS4 and XBO was 1.4:1. Keep in mind, this is with PS5 suffering from a supply shortage the PS4 never had, so while you're technically right that Sony haven't pulled away with a 2:1 ratio or what-have-you by this point, that very likely is probably due to lack of supply. If PS5 supply wasn't knee-capped for several months near the end of last year into the early quarter or such of this year, the ratio would probably be noticeably higher in its favor, just looking at the trends.

Also FWIW, MS themselves have stated they expect Xbox sales to be flat for their FQ1 and FQ2 this year. Their FY started this past July; the growth in revenue percentages for Xbox come from there probably being just enough XSX units in the supply chain, compared to this period last year. That, and also additional peripheral sales plus a few key software releases adding to platform revenue. Remember, Elden Ring is still gonig strong, and there was not ER-type game out at this time last year. Saint's Row wasn't available, either, or anything equivalent to it. For Xbox, notable software releases for FY 2021 didn't come until at least October, I want to say FH5 is actually when that started, then Halo Infinite in December.

Finally, don't forget that Zenimax software revenue now counts towards the Xbox division's revenue figures. That's probably easy to forget, but that is the case now. If/when the ABK deal clears, their revenue will also be absorbed into Xbox's, so any large spikes in QoQ revenue growth can be largely attributed to that more so anything else.

I agree with your general notion that all three platforms are doing very well this generation and, in Xbox's case, it'll be their best revenue-generating generation by far. But we also need to keep the record straight on the hows & whys. Yes there isn't a 2:1 gap in PS's favor this time, but data and trends suggest if supply constraints weren't an issue, they would probably be at that ratio or very close to it. Yes Xbox has seen revenue growth QoQ, but there are key 3P releases this time out helping with that, as well as Zenimax's added revenue.

Yes Sony hasn't shown a lot for 2023 but we actually...do know quite a bit about their 2023 plans? There's Spiderman 2, Stellar Blade, and along with 3P partners games like FF XVI and FF VII Part 2. Also potentially TLOU Part 2 Factions. That's five big releases right there, provided none of them are delayed.

Overall though, good NPD results for everyone, that's something worth being pleased with.
 

Thirty7ven

Banned
Oh that wasnt what I was thinking but maybe that is the quote?

Jeez when did they say that....totally mental!

The worst part is that the market could in fact grow if MS was interested in adding different experiences to the market over the competition. Imagine if Xbox was as different from PlayStation as it is from a Switch. We could see that growth as new types of player would be added to the market.
 
Hopefully MS can use the recent sales news to again prove they are not the biggest player in the gaming space and their recent attempt to acquire Activision should be approved. There is plenty of space in this industry for everyone to be successful. It is certainly not surprising that MS needed to find success outside of just how many consoles are sold.

May 2013 lol. Yeah it's crazy, combined they made it to 180M(?).
I still thought the 'billion users' comment came from the use of xCloud and other non-console devices. If the Mehdi comment came in 2013 that was before the advent of xCloud and Gamepass right? Is Mehdi still working on Xbox anymore?


Here is a much more recent article talking about 'billions of users' it wasn't talking solely about consoles.

"Although Cloud Gaming is untested at a mass scale, its appeal is clear. Focusing not on the hundreds of millions of players with a console, but the three billion players on other devices. Bond tells me about a trip to Africa that she and Spencer took, while xCloud was still in the testing phase. “[Phil] was playing on his phone. And everybody in Africa knows brands like Grand Theft Auto. But they can’t necessarily play those things. They don’t own a console, they don’t own a high-end PC.” xCloud has the potential to increase Xbox’s user base tenfold. "
 

Klayzer

Member
The worst part is that the market could in fact grow if MS was interested in adding different experiences to the market over the competition. Imagine if Xbox was as different from PlayStation as it is from a Switch. We could see that growth as new types of player would be added to the market.
I disagree. I think Microsoft is doing things differently than the competition. As for new experiences, we won't know until their more notable games start releasing..
 
Twitter has to be the worst way possible to share this info, Jesus.
Seriously, why people use that cesspool still? Its full of woke assholes activists, trolls, and weirdos. Limiting to 180 characters or what not is not good for actual information.

As for the main news, still can't get these consoles at stores. I was lucky Sony sent me an email three times and got one in April.
Steam Deck was much easier to get with get on queue and get sent when available.
Switch is the only console that you can reliably buy in stores.
 
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Seriously, why people use that cesspool still? Its full of woke assholes activists, trolls, and weirdos. Limiting to 180 characters or what not is not good for actual information.

As for the main news, still can't get these consoles at stores. I was lucky Sony sent me an email three times and got one in April.
Steam Deck was much easier to get with get on queue and get sent when available.
Switch is the only console that you can reliably buy in stores.

Yes I was surprised at how easy my OLED switch was to get. Great system BTW.
 
Hopefully MS can use the recent sales news to again prove they are not the biggest player in the gaming space and their recent attempt to acquire Activision should be approved

I don't get it. Just because Microsoft are behind sony and Nintendo, it means they should be allowed to buy some of the biggest game ips in the world? Its OK for them to just buy cod, doom, fallout, elder scrolls and so many more. Would it be OK if they own GTA too? I mean they are last, so it's OK and should be approved right?

Essentially what your saying is, because Microsoft ain't competing toe to toe with sony and Nintendo, they should be allowed to buy ip that will increase their marketshare. Sure, its even worse if sony did that because of their strong position but doesn't make it OK for Microsoft just because they are behind sony and Nintendo does it?
 
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Three

Member
I disagree. I think Microsoft is doing things differently than the competition. As for new experiences, we won't know until their more notable games start releasing..
They are doing things differently but I'm not convinced you can say they are doing that by bringing new experiences and growing the market. Seems more like owning the market that's already there.
Their notable games aren't new experiences they are games and experiences that existed which they now own. They haven't created VR platforms, they haven't moved to new portable devices. Their most notable thing is streaming and that kind of existed before too. Hopefully they see some reasonable growth in that market even though I'm not particularly a huge fan of streaming in general.
 
Hopefully MS can use the recent sales news to again prove they are not the biggest player in the gaming space and their recent attempt to acquire Activision should be approved. There is plenty of space in this industry for everyone to be successful. It is certainly not surprising that MS needed to find success outside of just how many consoles are sold.


I still thought the 'billion users' comment came from the use of xCloud and other non-console devices. If the Mehdi comment came in 2013 that was before the advent of xCloud and Gamepass right? Is Mehdi still working on Xbox anymore?


Here is a much more recent article talking about 'billions of users' it wasn't talking solely about consoles.

"Although Cloud Gaming is untested at a mass scale, its appeal is clear. Focusing not on the hundreds of millions of players with a console, but the three billion players on other devices. Bond tells me about a trip to Africa that she and Spencer took, while xCloud was still in the testing phase. “[Phil] was playing on his phone. And everybody in Africa knows brands like Grand Theft Auto. But they can’t necessarily play those things. They don’t own a console, they don’t own a high-end PC.” xCloud has the potential to increase Xbox’s user base tenfold. "

Ugh, shades of Jim Ryan's "We invented gaming in the Middle East" comment here. What African countries are Phil & Sarah even talking about here? I'm pretty sure consoles and PC gaming exist in South Africa, Morocco, Eritrea, Ethiopia etc. In fact...



..and that's from 2017. I'm just tired of these corporations always treating certain regions like they're 100% ignorant on games or that they need a company's super-convenient new business model in order to actually do the same thing people in other parts of the world have been doing for decades, because it's almost always never true.

And the way some people have been trying to GamePass as a tool to make gaming "affordable" to "poor" people, when they just want to avoid saying black & Latino people, in spite of traditional gaming avenues being available to them one way or another for decades, is both disingenuous and borderline antagonistic.
 

SlimySnake

Flashless at the Golden Globes
All I will say is this:

I also remember getting into debates about MS not really taking advantage of low PS5 stock. Someone tried to flip that to Sony didnt take advantage of having better stock but ...yeah....

2022 being really dry for Xbox is gonna hurt. Its almost 2023, soon it will be 2024.... almost the halfway point for a regular console gen for Sony and MS.

Its about to be even more of an uphill battle this gen for MS vs Sony. We still dont know whats coming later from Sony. Hell, they just revealed 2 games as PS5 console exclusives... Steller Blade and Rise of Ronin. One of those games was multi platform, and I dont know if it still is.

The best MS and Xbox fans should do is look at Xbox Series vs XBO.
Generation is only just starting. both are selling to the hardcore who were always gonna buy these consoles day one anyway. The undecided consumer sitting on the fence waiting for exclusives like Starfield and FF to come out is going to make the difference.

With COD now in play, its going to be impossible to say who is going to have an uphill battle. How do we know Starfield wont help them go back on top next year? Skyrim is a 30 million franchise. Fallout 20 million. Starfield will be just as big an exclusive as GOW except that it will be next gen only. Who knows what kind of effect COD will have even if Phil promises the next 5 years of CoD games on Playstation. Just way too early to be making any predictions.

I also dont see how you can say 2022 being dry will hurt MS when they are selling better than they have before. Just a weird take. And Steller Blade and Rise of Ronin? What are they gonna do? PS5 has plenty of Japanese action games. It needs WRPGs and First person shooters to compete with MS's releases now that MS owns the top two franchises in each genre.

Right now, Sony needs to come out and show WRPGs and First Person Shooters this month. That State of Play isnt going to convince any COD or Starfield fans to pick up a PS5. especially with GOW coming to PS4. If the Activision deal is approved by november, it will be too late. Sony needs to get a move on and show their prospective buyers that there is stuff lined up to replace Starfield and COD. You're right. Its 2023, soon it will be 2024 and Sony just has a bunch of japanese third party exclusives lined up that are also on PC.
 

Ezquimacore

Banned
They didn't win last month now did they. If Sony doesn't have enough supply then yeah Nintendo will win this month.
They launched a new switch with Splatoon design this month, Japan bought almost 4 million copies in 3 days. Not even with supply they would win that. Pokemon is also around the corner too. I think it's going to be one month for Nintendo one month for PlayStation from now on. With all the third party games coming PlayStation better have more supply starting January.
 

Hobbygaming

has been asked to post in 'Grounded' mode.
And in threads like this with the undisputed facts they will be very quiet. Facts don't line up with narrative. Like the Buffalo Bills fans they are it'll be all about next season. Of course, when the next season comes it'll be all about the next next season.
Right and it doesn't help that they have people out there spreading propaganda like Colt, Dealer, etc
 

Klayzer

Member
They are doing things differently but I'm not convinced you can say they are doing that by bringing new experiences and growing the market. Seems more like owning the market that's already there.
Their notable games aren't new experiences they are games and experiences that existed which they now own. They haven't created VR platforms, they haven't moved to new portable devices. Their most notable thing is streaming and that kind of existed before too. Hopefully they see some reasonable growth in that market even though I'm not particularly a huge fan of streaming in general.
Not a fan of streaming as well. I can't give definitive opinion on "new experiences" until I have at least tried playing those.
 

solidus12

Member
Ugh, shades of Jim Ryan's "We invented gaming in the Middle East" comment here. What African countries are Phil & Sarah even talking about here? I'm pretty sure consoles and PC gaming exist in South Africa, Morocco, Eritrea, Ethiopia etc. In fact...



..and that's from 2017. I'm just tired of these corporations always treating certain regions like they're 100% ignorant on games or that they need a company's super-convenient new business model in order to actually do the same thing people in other parts of the world have been doing for decades, because it's almost always never true.

And the way some people have been trying to GamePass as a tool to make gaming "affordable" to "poor" people, when they just want to avoid saying black & Latino people, in spite of traditional gaming avenues being available to them one way or another for decades, is both disingenuous and borderline antagonistic.

I'm from Morocco and I have a PS5 with ps+ premium and all the first party playstation games on disc.
We are not ignorant, we just want GOOD games; thankfully, PlayStation and Nintendo provide that.
 
The f does that have to do with console sales? :messenger_grinning_sweat:


Official Xbox Magazine quote.

Wait they honestly thought PS4, XBO and Wii U (the Switch didn't exist at this point) would do 400 million lifetime combined? Consoles sales grow by 30% every generation?

What was Mehdi thinking? Maybe 30% growth was real generations ago, but it's like Moore's Law: at some point it stops being true unless you really innovate things at the core. That's probably why we're seeing such a shift to a more device-agnostic ecosystem approach not just from Microsoft but even from Sony and at some point in the future, likely Nintendo as well. It's just a question of how big a role Netflix-style game sub services will act as an anchor in that future, to a lesser extent what amount of scalability will be tolerated which determines the amount of native ports versus streaming solutions for lower-target devices or devices outside of the ecosystem's family of devices supported.

Peak console generation sales were had with PS3/360/Wii and with handhelds, DS gen. About 427 million units in total, but that was the exception. Nintendo doesn't have two distinct device lines anymore. Consoles are generally more expensive and don't get price cuts as much as in older gens. PC and mobile are more prolific than they've ever been. Last gen was probably ~ 220 million devices between PS4, XBO and Switch (pre PS5/XSX release). This gen might get close to 300 million but it depends on: PS5 Slim (and PS5 supply remaining strong), Xbox streaming box, Switch 2 being a big seller.

I'm from Morocco and I have a PS5 with ps+ premium and all the first party playstation games on disc.
We are not ignorant, we just want GOOD games; thankfully, PlayStation and Nintendo provide that.

Personally I think MS do have some good games tbh, like FH5 and Flight Sim. But they're also very niche and not the type of games that are going to captivate most people. Never mind, none of them need a service being pushed in order to exist.

But yeah I get tired of the arguments that these sub services are supposed to liberate or enlighten the poor so that these companies look more virtuous, because they just end up stereotyping a lot of these regions or groups, ignore that these places and people know what games are and many can get the same hardware and games as people across the world. Maybe not always to the same capacity or general availability, but that's besides the point.
 
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MrA

Banned
Ugh, shades of Jim Ryan's "We invented gaming in the Middle East" comment here. What African countries are Phil & Sarah even talking about here? I'm pretty sure consoles and PC gaming exist in South Africa, Morocco, Eritrea, Ethiopia etc. In fact...



..and that's from 2017. I'm just tired of these corporations always treating certain regions like they're 100% ignorant on games or that they need a company's super-convenient new business model in order to actually do the same thing people in other parts of the world have been doing for decades, because it's almost always never true.

And the way some people have been trying to GamePass as a tool to make gaming "affordable" to "poor" people, when they just want to avoid saying black & Latino people, in spite of traditional gaming avenues being available to them one way or another for decades, is both disingenuous and borderline antagonistic.

Yeah these countries have had bootlegs knock offs and clones for years, not to mention net cafes and that almost everyone has a smart phone
But just for fun

post-31518-0-72507000-1536971610.jpg

Mattel was delivering the goods decades ago
 

Kvally

Banned
I don't get it. Just because Microsoft are behind sony and Nintendo, it means they should be allowed to buy some of the biggest game ips in the world? Its OK for them to just buy cod, doom, fallout, elder scrolls and so many more. Would it be OK if they own GTA too? I mean they are last, so it's OK and should be approved right.

Essentially what your saying is, because Microsoft ain't competing toe to toe with sony and Nintendo, they should be allowed to buy ip that will increase their marketshare. Sure, its even worse if sony did that because of their strong position but doesn't make it OK for Microsoft just because they are behind sony and Nintendo does it?
MS will STILL be behind Sony and Nintendo even after this purchase. It's ok for Sony to buy publishers and developers, but it's not ok for MS?
 

OmegaSupreme

advanced basic bitch
I doubt it's going to have legs. I fully expect a huge drop off next month and October. Then possibly an increase in November for Black Friday sales.
Zoomer game was probably bought by zoomers. I imagine it will drop off a cliff. You'll be able to get it for half price pretty quickly.
 

jroc74

Phone reception is more important to me than human rights
Generation is only just starting. both are selling to the hardcore who were always gonna buy these consoles day one anyway. The undecided consumer sitting on the fence waiting for exclusives like Starfield and FF to come out is going to make the difference.

With COD now in play, its going to be impossible to say who is going to have an uphill battle. How do we know Starfield wont help them go back on top next year? Skyrim is a 30 million franchise. Fallout 20 million. Starfield will be just as big an exclusive as GOW except that it will be next gen only. Who knows what kind of effect COD will have even if Phil promises the next 5 years of CoD games on Playstation. Just way too early to be making any predictions.

I also dont see how you can say 2022 being dry will hurt MS when they are selling better than they have before. Just a weird take. And Steller Blade and Rise of Ronin? What are they gonna do? PS5 has plenty of Japanese action games. It needs WRPGs and First person shooters to compete with MS's releases now that MS owns the top two franchises in each genre.

Right now, Sony needs to come out and show WRPGs and First Person Shooters this month. That State of Play isnt going to convince any COD or Starfield fans to pick up a PS5. especially with GOW coming to PS4. If the Activision deal is approved by november, it will be too late. Sony needs to get a move on and show their prospective buyers that there is stuff lined up to replace Starfield and COD. You're right. Its 2023, soon it will be 2024 and Sony just has a bunch of japanese third party exclusives lined up that are also on PC.
2022 is dry for Xbox for exclusive games. That should be easy to understand if they both get the exact same multiplatform games....for the mst part...

Its already an uphill battle for MS, Xbox, that's usually the case when you are behind.

...Sony sat out Jan - Mar 2022....and have basically came roaring back the last 2 months in the US. Worldwide was always a lead for them overall.

Everything you say about 2023 and beyond is true for MS....but I mentioned we have no idea what Sony has in store for 2023 and beyond. Thats the point. Sony isn't just gonna throw their hands up from 2023 and beyond and give up because MS is more competitive. Its gonna be an interesting battle, but if you think MS isnt facing an uphill battle right now....I dont know what to say. Sony is putting out system seller after system seller and thats not gonna stop because 2023 is looking better for MS, Xbox.

Look at how high Spider-Man is on the charts...and that has to be helped by the PC release.

Like I said, MS and Xbox fans should just focus on Series X vs XBO. Its more healthier than focusing on Xbox vs PlayStation.

I made my post based on July and Aug NPD results....is yours based on wait til next year?
 
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DenchDeckard

Moderated wildly
May 2013 lol. Yeah it's crazy, combined they made it to 180M(?).

During the xbox one disaster. Literally every word they said was wrong during that whole ordeal. Call me a conspiracy theorist but that shit was so bad, it had to have been on purpose.

Yeah, haha they were absolutely on crack back then. Man they said some absolute gold!
 
At this point is the consensus that Nintendo will lead in sales in 2022? They probably have a Pokemon game coming which will help and they always do well at Christmas time.

Playstation will surpass nintendo in units and dollar sales by the end of october if they hit their targets, which they seem to be doing.

Nintendo will eventually start to slip down as more time passes, they will probably do well this holiday but sony also have MW2 and Ragnarok so it will be a photo finish to see who sells more this year
 
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Lognor

Banned
Playstation will surpass nintendo in units and dollar sales by the end of october if they hit their targets, which they seem to be doing.

Nintendo will eventually start to slip down as more time passes, they will probably do well this holiday but sony also have MW2 and Ragnarok so it will be a photo finish to see who sells more this year
Yeah I think it could go either way. If Nintendo does an awesome bundle it could sway things but that's unlikely. Probably another Mario kart bundle at msrp lol
 

Robb

Gold Member
It’s nice to see the supply issues finally starting to fade out. I imagine both Sony and MS will have a great holiday if this keeps up.
 

johnjohn

Member
All I will say is this:

I also remember getting into debates about MS not really taking advantage of low PS5 stock. Someone tried to flip that to Sony didnt take advantage of having better stock but ...yeah....

2022 being really dry for Xbox is gonna hurt. Its almost 2023, soon it will be 2024.... almost the halfway point for a regular console gen for Sony and MS.

Its about to be even more of an uphill battle this gen for MS vs Sony. We still dont know whats coming later from Sony. Hell, they just revealed 2 games as PS5 console exclusives... Steller Blade and Rise of Ronin. One of those games was multi platform, and I dont know if it still is.

The best MS and Xbox fans should do is look at Xbox Series vs XBO.
Come one now, this is just pure delusion. How is it going to be more of an uphill battle? The gen is just getting started and MS hasn't even started dropping their heavy hitters. This is literally the best it's going to get for Sony, as next year MS has a stacked lineup and The Activision deal is going to close.
 

Hobbygaming

has been asked to post in 'Grounded' mode.
Come one now, this is just pure delusion. How is it going to be more of an uphill battle? The gen is just getting started and MS hasn't even started dropping their heavy hitters. This is literally the best it's going to get for Sony, as next year MS has a stacked lineup and The Activision deal is going to close.
Some people probably said this same thing for 2022. Sony still has the momentum and higher demand
 
Some people probably said this same thing for 2022. Sony still has the momentum and higher demand

Sony haven’t even started showing or releasing big next gen titles yet. They are currently in the same place as xbox they just haven’t announced their next line up of games outside of spider-man 2, which is btw a bigger game than god of war is
 
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jroc74

Phone reception is more important to me than human rights
Come one now, this is just pure delusion. How is it going to be more of an uphill battle? The gen is just getting started and MS hasn't even started dropping their heavy hitters. This is literally the best it's going to get for Sony, as next year MS has a stacked lineup and The Activision deal is going to close.
I believe it was you that said Sony wasnt taking advantage of the stock situation a few months ago.

Welp.

I remember ppl saying:

Series S and Game Pass is why Sony is lagging behind in sales.

Now we have 2 months in a row where the $299 Series S is ... getting outsold vs 2 consoles from Sony that are more expensive. AFAIK....the split favors Series S vs Series X.

That is by definition an uphill battle.
 
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