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Forums - Sales Discussion - UK December sales: PS5 falls but still #1, Switch up 39% from Nov

Norion on 09 January 2024

PS5 finally selling what it should but being a tad down from the PS4's peak year in what will likely be the PS5's peak year isn't ideal, it'll be really tough for the PS5 to catch up. Hopefully Xbox is flat this year instead of another decline but either way it's unfortunate how much less competitive it is compared to last gen and Switch is at the point of needing a replacement soon but is going out gracefully. 

pikashoe said:

Suprised to see that console sales seem to have declined a bit since the ps360 days.

PC gaming has grown since those days and that will be having an impact, especially on Xbox. Another factor is probably the shitty economic situation.



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Zippy6 on 10 January 2024
curl-6 said:

14% down YOY for Xbox is somewhat less catastrophic than November suggested; hopefully they're not doomed and can salvage some semblance of health.

November in the UK was 4% up YoY. So are you meaning less catastrophic than global sales in November? It's important to remember that the UK is one of Xbox's strongest markets. In fact in terms of YoY change it's probably the best performing country in the world for Xbox in 2023.

November 2023 YoY Changes:

UK: +4% YoY
Europe: -11% YoY
Global: -15.5% YoY
USA: -21% YoY
Europe (Mainland Only, No UK/Germany): -26% YoY
Japan: - 27% YoY

But even if that 14% down in the UK for the full year translates to global it's still a pretty awful result for Xbox. That would be 7.4m sales in 2023, compared to the Xbox One selling 9.6m in 2016.

It will be difficult for them to salvage. They're going to need to go from dropping over 14% YoY in 2023 to increasing by over 23% YoY in 2024 just to get back to matching Xbox One 2017 sales. It's difficult to reverse the sales trend of a console. MS would need to work very hard to salvage the Xbox Series sales at this point and honestly I don't think they're that committed to it.



Console Launch Aligned Sales Charts

Famitsu Sales Database

VGChartz Monthly Sales Database

curl-6 on 10 January 2024
Zippy6 said:
curl-6 said:

14% down YOY for Xbox is somewhat less catastrophic than November suggested; hopefully they're not doomed and can salvage some semblance of health.

November in the UK was 4% up YoY. So are you meaning less catastrophic than global sales in November? It's important to remember that the UK is one of Xbox's strongest markets. In fact in terms of YoY change it's probably the best performing country in the world for Xbox in 2023.

November 2023 YoY Changes:

UK: +4% YoY
Europe: -11% YoY
Global: -15.5% YoY
USA: -21% YoY
Europe (Mainland Only, No UK/Germany): -26% YoY
Japan: - 27% YoY

But even if that 14% down in the UK for the full year translates to global it's still a pretty awful result for Xbox. That would be 7.4m sales in 2023, compared to the Xbox One selling 9.6m in 2016.

It will be difficult for them to salvage. They're going to need to go from dropping over 14% YoY in 2023 to increasing by over 23% YoY in 2024 just to get back to matching Xbox One 2017 sales. It's difficult to reverse the sales trend of a console. MS would need to work very hard to salvage the Xbox Series sales at this point and honestly I don't think they're that committed to it.

I was thinking of Europe by accident, where it was down 26% in November. Those numbers are gonna be ugly this month.

Xbox One sales are likely out of reach at this point, I think the best they can hope for is to staunch the bleeding and keep the boat afloat until next gen. 



DonFerrari on 10 January 2024
curl-6 said:

14% down YOY for Xbox is somewhat less catastrophic than November suggested; hopefully they're not doomed and can salvage some semblance of health.
Switch down 16.7% YOY is downright amazing for a system in its 7th year, and again better than it seemed would be the case based on last month's sales.

Switch Sports making the monthly top 10 is a pleasant surprise; I assume this is due to them counting bundled software?

They were very aggressive in discounts on December. But let's see how early 2024 will do.



duduspace11 "Well, since we are estimating costs, Pokemon Red/Blue did cost Nintendo about $50m to make back in 1996"

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=8808363

Mr Puggsly: "Hehe, I said good profit. You said big profit. Frankly, not losing money is what I meant by good. Don't get hung up on semantics"

http://gamrconnect.vgchartz.com/post.php?id=9008994

Azzanation: "PS5 wouldn't sold out at launch without scalpers."

Tober on 10 January 2024

It's all about games. Xbox needs a consistent output of fun, surprising and appealing games. And it needs it fast.

High Fi Rush was one highlight last year, but they need more highlights. The announced partnerships with Japanese studio's like SE, Capcom and Atlus will help.

Time is running out, the audience is losing confidence, this year Xbox needs to deliver.



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pikashoe on 10 January 2024
Tober said:

It's all about games. Xbox needs a consistent output of fun, surprising and appealing games. And it needs it fast.

High Fi Rush was one highlight last year, but they need more highlights. The announced partnerships with Japanese studio's like SE, Capcom and Atlus will help.

Time is running out, the audience is losing confidence, this year Xbox needs to deliver.

Well 2023 was a decent improvement in terms of game releases compared to 2022 for them. If they can continue that improvement into this year and the rest of the gen they should hopefully be able to have some momentum going into the next gen. The release schedule for this year suggests that they are moving in the right direction. 



CosmicSex on 10 January 2024
Shtinamin_ said:

Solid month for both Switch's 7th holiday, and Xbox Series.
PS5 was expected #1 but I personally expected almost equal to or more than November's numbers >240k

Thats funny because I personally expected Xbox  to be higher due to the killer deals that ran all month.   Pushing those sales, and just barely beating the Switch doesn't feel like a solid month to me.  



Shtinamin_ on 10 January 2024
CosmicSex said:
Shtinamin_ said:

Solid month for both Switch's 7th holiday, and Xbox Series.
PS5 was expected #1 but I personally expected almost equal to or more than November's numbers >240k

Thats funny because I personally expected Xbox  to be higher due to the killer deals that ran all month.   Pushing those sales, and just barely beating the Switch doesn't feel like a solid month to me.  

Xbox Series does deserve better but, given that this was their best selling month of 2023 (as of November 2023). Since this was its best month so far, its pretty solid.
Beating the Switch is still beating the Switch. You gotta take the wins no matter how small of a difference.



Lifetime Sales Predictions 

Switch: 160 million (was 120 million, then 140 million, then 150 million)

PS5: 130 million (was 124 million)

Xbox Series X/S: 54 million (was 60 million, then 57 million)

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curl-6 on 10 January 2024
CosmicSex said:
Shtinamin_ said:

Solid month for both Switch's 7th holiday, and Xbox Series.
PS5 was expected #1 but I personally expected almost equal to or more than November's numbers >240k

Thats funny because I personally expected Xbox  to be higher due to the killer deals that ran all month.   Pushing those sales, and just barely beating the Switch doesn't feel like a solid month to me.  

Hang on, I thought Switch finished at #2 this reported month, above Xbox? 

https://www.vgchartz.com/article/459555/ps5-best-seller-in-the-uk-in-december-as-sales-fall-switch-and-xbox-series-xs-sales-climb/



Panicradio on 11 January 2024

Quite a statement for the PS5 still being #1 in the UK despite being down 19% month-on-month. Switch being up 39% is just crazy. Seems like you can't predict anything these days.

Speaking of crazy, Xbox Series console sales. It's just mind boggling to have witnessed the massive downfall throughout 2023, even in the UK and even behind Xbox One numbers.

2024 is going to be very interesting.

Sony already cleaned the house from OG PS5's model to the Slim product line now, which will probably save them costs and fees.

If Sony manages to cut the PS5's price tag at some point this year already down to 449/349 maybe?, announced at a SoP or maybe even at a big PS Showcase, I think it would have a huge impact on sales, inspite the lack of First Party games in 2024.

At least as of now for the PS5 it looks like this year will be mostly driven by (exclusive) Third Party titles.