Four years after its launch, US sales of Xbox Series X/S are trailing behind those of its predecessor, Xbox One, at the same point in the consoles’ life time. Sales of PlayStation 5, however, are now firmly outpacing PlayStation 4.
That’s according to sales data from marketing research and technology company Circana (formerly The NPD Group) in its latest monthly report. Circana executive director and games industry analyst Mat Piscatella summarised the company’s finding – covering US games and hardware spending up to December 2024 – in a lengthy post on Bluesky (thanks VGC).
Commenting on some of the reports highlights, Piscatella wrote, “Through each console’s first 50 months in the US market (life to date ending Dec 2024 for both Xbox Series X/S and PS5), PS5 lifetime unit sales are 7 percent ahead of PS4’s pace, while Xbox Series X/S trails Xbox One by 18 percent.” By comparison, Piscatella noted, “Through 38 months in the US (through Dec 2023), PS5 led PS4 by 6 percent while Xbox Series X/S trailed Xbox One by 13 percent.”
Circana’s 2024 end-of-year report charts what Piscatella called a “rough” 12 months for gaming hardware, with consumer spending falling 29 percent compared to last year. On a more granular level, spending on PS5 hardware fell by 18 percent (although it remained the best-selling platform in December) while Series X/S and Switch declined by 38 percent. This drop, however, was “expected” according to Piscatella, given Switch’s substantial time on the market, and PS5 and Series X/S both being “past their selling peaks”.
While specific hardware sales figures weren’t disclosed, Sony last year revealed, amid declining year-on-year sales, 61m PS5s have been shifted since its launch in November 2020. Microsoft does not share sales figures for Xbox Series X/S, but it also previously confirmed declining hardware sales as it increasingly pushes Xbox as a hardware agnostic brand.
Piscatella’s full summary of Circana’s latest report on US games and hardware trends can be found on Bluesky and makes for an interesting read.