June 2026 Circana (NPD) Thread + Predictions

[trunkswd]

Tober said:

trunkswd said:

Great work on doing all those charts. I do about a dozen monthly sales comparison charts and know they can take a while to update. 

I agree that if Xbox plays its cards right it can turn things around next-generation. At least possibly to Xbox One levels. This is with having a disc drive option, even as an add-on, and making all single-player focused IPs and classic Xbox IPs exclusive for at least 2 years. Halo, Gears, Fable, and Forza will ONLY be on Xbox/PC, while games like Elder Scrolls and Fallout launch first on Xbox/PC and don't come to PlayStation or Nintendo for 2 years or more.

I think having 2 SKUs given the price situation is a good thing to have. Though, instead of Series S/X have it more like PS5 and PS5 Pro. So you have a decently powered model for $600/$700 and one that crosses the bridge to more PC territory for $1,000+. I know this comes down to the price of RAM and SSDs, and how much Microsoft is willing to lose per console. So the lower powered one could be more at launch. I'd also name the consoles Xbox 7 and Xbox 7 X. Yes, 7. (OG -> 360 -> X1 -> X1X -> XSS -> XSX).

Helix being more of a PC the question is will it have access to other storefronts like Steam and Epic. if Xbox wants to grow the Xbox PC app and willing take a hit on each console sold they either need to not allow access to them at all or at least make all first-party games exclusive to the Xbox PC app (or only allow access to games not available on Xbox / PC Xbox app).

I'd also port World of Warcraft to Xbox 7 as the game already supports controller. Just have it where one subscription is needed for Xbox and PC. Maybe have a WoW and Game Pass bundle that saves a few dollars a month. Ie. WoW is $15/m, while Ultimate is $23/m. So make it $35/m.

Xbox7 is a good name. Subconsciously people associate the number 7 with good luck and success. It's a number with positive vibes. Good call. 

Plus it would be 1 number higher than PS6. While if they went with say Xbox 5 it would be a number below PS6. I think it was only ever rumored, but the reason Microsoft went with Xbox 360 over Xbox 2 is due to Xbox 2 being a number below PS3 and 360 having the 3 in the number to match PS3.