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In newly reported data, it's revealed that Microsoft managed to shift 28.3 million Xbox Series X and S consoles worldwide as of June 24, which is less than half of Sony's previously known 61.7 million PS5s sold in the same timeframe.
The Wall Street Journal sourced its data from Aldora Intelligence for a comparison of hardware sales between Sony and Microsoft going back to the PS2 and original Xbox. In that generation, Sony absolutely dwarfed its competition with 155 million units sold compared to the Xbox's comparatively meager 24.7 million units sold.
The Xbox 360 fared much, much better, its 84.9 million hardware sales within striking distance of the PS3's 87.4 million figure. In its analysis, WSJ rightly pointed to the PS3's $600 price tag, which when adjusted for inflation, is somewhere around $934 in 2024 dollars and considerably more expensive - again, when adjusted for inflation - than the still-pricey PS5 Pro, which will be $700 when it launches on November 7.
As of June 2024, Microsoft's numbers relative to Sony's are mirroring last generation's PS4 and Xbox One sales pretty closely, which is to say Xbox is selling right around half the amount of PlayStation's units sold. Whereas the Xbox One's 57.9 million units sold are just over half of the PS4's 117 million, the Xbox Series console family's 28.3 million unit sales are just under half of the PS5's 61.7 million.
This is all to say Sony is heading for another pretty decisive victory in the console wars barring something unforeseen. That's not a surprise; Xbox itself admitted it already lost the console wars when it was in court against the US Federal Trade Commission seeking the green light to close its acquisition of Activision Blizzard.
Microsoft is clearly banking on its Game Pass subscription model and cloud gaming to make up for its shortcomings in hardware sales, but whether that strategy will pay off in the long run is anyone's guess.
