Microsoft har netop gennemført deres køb af Activision Blizzard, og har samlet set investeret heftigt i en brede portefolie af studier, der for fremtiden skal levere indhold til Game Pass, og sikre vækst for Xbox. Men lige nu og her er der vist lidt af et problem - Microsoft sælger ikke synderligt mange Xbox-konsoller, og særligt ikke i Europa.
GamesIndustry har fået fat i data fra diverse europæiske markeder, som sammenligner denne oktober med samme periode sidste år, og hvorimod tallene for Sony er betrygningsfulde takket være forøget udbud, så er Xbox-konsolsalget faldet drastisk:
"Over in console hardware, PS5 is comfortably the No.1 console in Europe (across tracked markets, UK and Germany not included). PS5 sales are up 143% over October last year, driven by the availability of stock this time around. Nintendo Switch is at No.2 despite a 20% drop in sales compared with last October, while Xbox Series S and X sales continue to struggle in Europe, down 52% year-on-year."
Selv bedømt måned for måned er der ikke gode nyheder for Xbox, eftersom deres omsætning er faldet 20% sammenlignet med september, muligvis fordi Starfield blev lanceret der.
Christopher Dring giver os lidt kontekst, og forklarer at i mange EU-lande anses Xbox ikke som en stærk rival til PlayStation og Nintendo, men tallene fra England er særligt skuffende for Microsoft:
The sheer absence of available console stock last year does skew these figures quite a bit. And it's worth noting that Eurozone countries have never been Xbox's strongest territories. They revealed back in February they only hold 20% of the market versus PlayStation's 80%. However, even in the UK, which is a market where Xbox is a lot more competitive it's been a tough year, with Xbox Series S and X sales down 23% year-to-date. The reality is the console has very little momentum, which is such a crucial element when it comes to how successful a generation is or isn't for a platform holder."