Ninth and current generation video game consoles: Xbox Series X (2020), PlayStation 5 (2020) and Nintendo Switch (2017).
Photo: The Spectator
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Each new generation of video game consoles comes loaded with high or low expectations, depending on the results of the previous generation. There are times that are marked by bitter commercial rivalry, such as the generation led by Sega and Nintendo. There are others that are marked by how close the competition for sales is, such as the seventh, starring Nintendo Wii, PS3 and Xbox 360. However, this ninth has been marked by high contrasts.
The current generation was advanced, as had become customary, on behalf of the Nintendo Switch that was released in 2017 and quickly positioned itself between its recurring buyers and those who were experiencing their first gaming experience. After seven years and three different models, Nintendo achieved a resounding victory, the product of more than 140 million units sold. However, it competed with systems with very different approaches and target audiences.
The PlayStation 5 arrived three years after the Nintendo platform and caused a shortage of units due to the ravages of the pandemic and a high expectation that it would be the best console of the generation. However, it was not accompanied by a robust catalog that motivated the migration from PS4 to PS5, since a good part of the titles had already been seen on the previous platform. The result? Almost 65 million units sold and a deep feeling that it could have been much more than it was.
Finally, the Xbox Series However, ironically, this console is the one that has been discontinued the least in the US market. In any case, these are worrying numbers ahead of the end-of-year holidays, the possible announcement of the Nintendo Switch 2 and the still debuting PlayStation 5 Pro. This is the outlook.
Console sales in the United States
According to data provided by Mat Piscatella, a market analyst at the Circana firm, there was a 23% drop in consumer spending on consoles, compared to October 2023. The system that reported the drop The largest was the Nintendo Switch (38%), followed by the PlayStation 5 (20%) and, finally, and surprisingly, the Xbox Series X|S (18%).
Why are the results of the Microsoft platform attracting attention? During the four years that the green Nintendo Switch, which seems to have its months numbered.
The latter could explain why the Nintendo system is the worst seller during the tenth month of the year, since when a platform is at the end of its commercial cycle, it is increasingly difficult to continue squeezing sales from it. The only certainty is that with respect to the other two manufacturers the outlook is more bleak, because in four years they have not been able to sell at the pace of their older sisters from previous generations.
Will the home console business end?
However, the market is far from being in intensive care. For example, PlayStation is the only one that released an intergenerational console that truly represents a leap forward in terms of performance, so it does not compete with anyone. Even, and against criticism, it is the best-selling console in Japan, the other important gaming market, on a weekly basis.
For its part, Xbox appears very comfortable with its strategy of stopping counting how many consoles it sells and rather counting how many customers its subscription service has. In this way, the outlook does not seem to be catastrophic, in addition to the fact that Microsoft, which is seen as weaker in hardware sales, confirmed more than nine months ago that it will be part of the tenth generation of consoles.
Finally, strong rumors also suggest that the Nintendo Switch 2 will not be alone in its segment, as happened in this generation, but will have to fight a commercial battle against a possible portable Xbox platform and another from PlayStation. Without a doubt, console sales and the hegemony of Nintendo, Microsoft and Sony are far from over.
