Microsoft no longer announces how many consoles it has sold worldwide. That however does not stop third-party research and analytics firms to share estimated Xbox Series sales figures with the public.
According to a report by GamesIndustry earlier today, data from Ampere Analysis suggests that Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S have sold around 2.8 million units combined since their worldwide launch in November 2020. This figure was previously assumed to be more than 3 million units sold but Ampere Analysis claims its data to be focusing on sell-through Xbox Series sales or consoles directly sold to consumers, not shipped by Microsoft to retailers.
The previous-generation Xbox One sold around 2.9 million consoles worldwide in comparison for the same post-launch period. The said Xbox Series sales numbers are hence lagging a little behind, which can be safely attributed to the impact of COVID-19 last year on manufacturing and shipping schedules.
Microsoft however is not just relying on hardware sales. It remains focused on expanding Xbox Game Pass and bringing more Xbox content to all platforms in order to increase software and subscription sales.
The pandemic however did not stop PlayStation 5 from enjoying the biggest PlayStation launch in history as well as becoming the biggest console launch of all time. Sony Interactive Entertainment recently confirmed that PS5 sold 4.5 million consoles during the post-launch period between November and December 2020. Ampere Analysis believes that Sony could have sold more than 5 million PS5 consoles if supply shortages had not been an issue.
COVID-19 was not the only factor to damage supply chains. Scalpers entered the fray to reduce the already limited number of consoles in worldwide markets.
