Tech UPTechnologyWhy Nintendo and Xbox sales are down, but PlayStation...

Why Nintendo and Xbox sales are down, but PlayStation sales are up

Video game consoles are going through a gray period, as they struggle to meet their production goals. During the second quarter of the year, the sales of these devices for the three big brands in the sector (Nintendo, PlayStation and Xbox) were not as relevant as expected.

Nintendo Switch is one of the most successful consoles in the entire history of the Japanese company, but between April and June of this year it did not have an outstanding performance, as it sold 3.43 million devices, that is, a decrease of almost 23% compared to to the previous year.

Currently, the company has three Switch models. The standard that was released in 2017 managed to sell 1.32 million units, which is 60% less than in 2021. The Lite version is down almost 50% with 590,000 consoles sold, but the version with OLED screen, which was released in October Last year, it sold 1.52 million hardwares.

“Production was affected by factors such as the global shortage of semiconductor components, which resulted in a decline in hardware shipments and subsequent decline in overall sales,” the company said in its earnings release, where it also highlighted they still expect to sell 21 million consoles throughout their fiscal year, which ends in March 2023.

In terms of software, the company that gave birth to Mario Bros also fell 8.6% to just under 41.5 million games sold. Although the star in this period was Nintendo Switch Sports, with 4.84 million units, the figure is expected to improve in the coming months, with releases such as Bayonetta 3, in October, and the new generation of Pokémon, in November.

Xbox and PlayStation did not have a great second half either

Nintendo isn’t the only video game company to experience a rough quarter for hardware sales. This vertical’s revenue on Xbox fell 11% as component limitations have been extended since the launch of its new consoles.

Despite the decline in revenue, Microsoft CEO Satya Nadella noted that the company “has been the market leader in North America for three consecutive quarters among next-gen consoles.”

In terms of software, the company saw a 6% drop and attributed this scenario to “fewer hours of participation and monetization” in its own and third-party titles. However, he highlighted that 10 million people used the Xbox Cloud Gaming service.

For its part, Sony revealed that 2.4 million PS5s were shipped this quarter, that is, 4% more than in the same period last year and during its two years of life, the console has sold 21.7 million units.

However, software sales plummeted 26%, due to no exclusive releases competing with Elden Ring, which was released on multiple platforms at the same time.

Experts cut their forecasts in the console market

According to the analysis firm specialized in gaming, Newzoo, the console market will have a worse performance during 2022, because although they are expected to generate 52.9 billion dollars, this figure represents a decrease of 2.2% compared to 2021 .

In its latest , the analytics firm noted that while the pandemic had a positive impact by attracting more gamers in the early years, it also brought a lot to the business, especially console business.

“Supply shortages, disrupted supply lines, and studios adapting to work-from-home work have led to countless game delays and the inability of consumers to find next-gen consoles and components,” it reads. in the study.

These reasons partly explain the decline of consoles, as the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X are still in short supply almost two years after their launch. “This is likely to remain the case until the end of 2023, at least,” the company concluded.

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