• Light/Dark
  • Ever wanted an RSS feed of all your favorite gaming news sites? Go check out our new Gaming Headlines feed! Read more about it here.

Xbox Series X|S reportedly passed the PS5 to be the second best-selling console in the UK in April

MiDoZ

MiDoZ

Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
828
Behind the Switch of course.


From the article:
  • According to the report, the Xbox Series X|S duo comfortably passed the PS5 amidst its lagging supply.
  • The Nintendo Switch retained its top spot, however, where it continues to dominate console sales.
  • The Xbox Wireless Controller also beat out the PS5 DualSense for best-selling controller in the UK.
Actual report source:
 
Last edited:
Shirkelton

Shirkelton

Member
Aug 20, 2020
5,977
Makes sense, from what little we've seen of PS sales, supply was pretty woeful across April in parts of Europe. The Switch is just a different kind of beast all together.
 

Deleted member 17676

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
2,454
Not really surprising. Xbox has always done well in the UK. It's whether it can make any other inroads in the other parts of Europe, whilst Sony are struggling for supplies.
 
Ambient

Ambient

Member
Dec 23, 2017
7,052
Supply problems have hit Sony hard. Here in Canada I have never seen a PS5 in the wild. I've seen Series X and S on the shelf but after a day or two they move. Wonder if Microsoft has a better supply now.
 
Prine

Prine

Attempted to circumvent ban with alt account
Banned
Oct 25, 2017
15,724
Either way, amazing to see such high demand for the new consoles.
 
robot

robot

Member
Oct 27, 2017
2,467
No way to know for sure, but I'm very curious if this is largely due to the PS5 supply issues or if it represents a shift in Xbox interest in the UK/Europe. Even if it's largely a supply issue this still could foster more long-term interest, which is fascinating since I always thought of Xbox as holding a distant 3rd there (I could very well be wrong about that though).
 
JusDoIt

JusDoIt

▲ Legend ▲
Member
Oct 25, 2017
34,646
South Central Los Angeles
robot said:
No way to know for sure, but I'm very curious if this is largely due to the PS5 supply issues or if it represents a shift in Xbox interest in the UK/Europe. Even if it's largely a supply issue this still could foster more long-term interest, which is fascinating since I always thought of Xbox as holding a distant 3rd there (I could very well be wrong about that though).
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

It's a supply issue. The PS4 outsold the PS5.
 
gothi

gothi

Prophet of Truth
Member
Jun 23, 2020
4,433
Cess007 said:
Pretty much is a stock issue. The PS4 sold more than the PS5 this month:

Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

This is the most interesting thing about this to me, who is buying a PS4? Why can they even buy a PS4 at this point? Is it those confused grannies we were warned would buy little Timmy an Xbox One instead of a Series X out there buying a PS4 instead of a PS5?
 
Eoin

Eoin

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,103
robot said:
No way to know for sure, but I'm very curious if this is largely due to the PS5 supply issues or if it represents a shift in Xbox interest in the UK/Europe. Even if it's largely a supply issue this still could foster more long-term interest, which is fascinating since I always thought of Xbox as holding a distant 3rd there (I could very well be wrong about that though).
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
No individual European country generalises all that well into "Europe", but that's especially true for the UK with Xbox - the Xbox has always struggled in Europe as a whole, but the UK has always been its single strongest European territory, so Xbox doing well in the UK shouldn't be considered any sign of any kind of shift in general European sentiment.
 
Ghostsonplanets

Ghostsonplanets

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,499
gothi said:
This is the most interesting thing about this to me, who is buying a PS4? Why can they even buy a PS4 at this point? Is it those confused grannies we were warned would buy little Timmy an Xbox One instead of a Series X out there buying a PS4 instead of a PS5?
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Anyone who wants to game? Like, PS5 can't be found and PS4 is still a capable platform that will receive releases for years.
 

Adventureracing

The Fallen
Nov 7, 2017
8,027
As has been said this is a supply issue. Xbox won't be challenging PS in any markets until it finally starts releasing some big games.
 
gothi

gothi

Prophet of Truth
Member
Jun 23, 2020
4,433
Ghostsonplanets said:
Anyone who wants to game? Like, PS5 can't be found and PS4 is still a capable platform that will receive releases for years.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
It's the most popular selling console in history and the chart is the scope of a tiny island (which I live on). Pretty much anyone who wanted a PS4 already had one in the UK long ago.

Edit: I've done the PS2 dirty, that of course sold more.
 
Last edited:
dom

dom

▲ Legend ▲
Avenger
Oct 25, 2017
10,439
Ambient said:
Supply problems have hit Sony hard. Here in Canada I have never seen a PS5 in the wild. I've seen Series X and S on the shelf but after a day or two they move. Wonder if Microsoft has a better supply now.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
That just means the supply is almost meeting demand in Canada for xbox as you dont have to worry about people making lines and going crazy for an xbox.
 
Baked Pigeon

Baked Pigeon

Banned
Oct 27, 2017
7,087
Phoenix
For everyone saying supply issues, the same could be said about PS5 outselling Series consoles in the U.S. Consoles are being sold as quickly as they are made available. Right now it's all about availability.
 
vixolus

vixolus

Prophet of Truth
Member
Sep 22, 2020
54,276
Low ps5 supply is Microsoft's gain. It's clear people are out there buying what's available, so whoever can supply is king. Hope this means some good Xbox growth in the UK and that MS is increasing supply.

They said June at the earliest when more supply would come through... Which seems like wishful thinking, but fingers crossed.
 
Ghostsonplanets

Ghostsonplanets

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,499
gothi said:
It's the most popular selling console in history and the chart is the scope of a tiny island (which I live on). Pretty much anyone who wanted a PS4 already had one in the UK long ago.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Nah, the pandemic certainly accentuated a cultural shift regarding socialization. As we needed to stay in home, a lot of people found themselves without avenue to socialize with friends. A PS4(which can be found cheap) is an item that can unlock the door for this digital world and actually can be found for sale.
 

pappacone

Member
Jan 10, 2020
3,139
robot said:
No way to know for sure, but I'm very curious if this is largely due to the PS5 supply issues or if it represents a shift in Xbox interest in the UK/Europe. Even if it's largely a supply issue this still could foster more long-term interest, which is fascinating since I always thought of Xbox as holding a distant 3rd there (I could very well be wrong about that though).
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
in the past month there was almost no restock in Italy too, I wouldn't be surprised if PS4 outsold PS5 here as well, I just think Europe got the smaller supply this month.
Don't read too much into it, UK is the same country where RE8 sold 80% of its copies on PS
 
Joo

Joo

Member
May 25, 2018
3,865
robot said:
No way to know for sure, but I'm very curious if this is largely due to the PS5 supply issues or if it represents a shift in Xbox interest in the UK/Europe. Even if it's largely a supply issue this still could foster more long-term interest, which is fascinating since I always thought of Xbox as holding a distant 3rd there (I could very well be wrong about that though).
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Long-term interest sure, but a shift in interest as of right now just doesn't change this fast when folks are so entwined with the the console ecosystems. In addition to this, I think Xbox has always done fairly well in the UK even though PlayStation has still been the more popular choice.

Still, we really can't say anything about either PS5's or XSX's real sales potential when both are very much supply constrained to varying degrees.

Low PS5 supply definitely helps Xbox in basically every single market area just because PlayStation is the clear market leader.
 
dm101

dm101

Member
Nov 13, 2018
2,183
Ambient said:
Supply problems have hit Sony hard. Here in Canada I have never seen a PS5 in the wild. I've seen Series X and S on the shelf but after a day or two they move. Wonder if Microsoft has a better supply now.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Same here in Canada. I have a series x but have never seen a ps5.
 
Welfare

Welfare

Prophet of Truth - You’re my Numberwall
Member
Oct 26, 2017
5,912
It reads like PS5 had little stock in April while Xbox saw an increase from March.

PS5 March was insane. It's certainly well above 100K. Probably ~150K since it was bigger than December. Xbox comparatively didn't do that. More subdued March with a better April.
 
Synohan

Synohan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
3,959
All systems are in high demand. It's hard to see either a PS5 or Xbox Series in the wild. People are hungry for next generation consoles and it's great to see Xbox and Sony selling well. It feels like these consoles are being sold before they're even available half the time.

gothi said:
It's the most popular selling console in history and the chart is the scope of a tiny island (which I live on). Pretty much anyone who wanted a PS4 already had one in the UK long ago.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I think the Pandemic is to thank for that. I know a lot of people who went out and bought PS4's late last year to connect with friends. You can find Pro's on the cheap depending on where you look, and most people don't want to compete with others in trying to get any of the next gen consoles which are barely in stock.
 
Eoin

Eoin

Member
Oct 27, 2017
7,103
gothi said:
It's the most popular selling console in history and the chart is the scope of a tiny island (which I live on). Pretty much anyone who wanted a PS4 already had one in the UK long ago.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
There'll be people who bought an Xbox One and might now feel that it's a good time to catch up on the PS4. There'll also be people new to console gaming (or returning to console gaming) wanting to pick up console and the PS4 is a great choice, as a relatively cheap, capable, popular, available machine with a huge library. For any popular-but-old machine there will also be a steady flow of people replacing machines that have died.
 
Iron Eddie

Iron Eddie

Banned
Nov 25, 2019
9,812
Ambient said:
Supply problems have hit Sony hard. Here in Canada I have never seen a PS5 in the wild. I've seen Series X and S on the shelf but after a day or two they move. Wonder if Microsoft has a better supply now.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...

EB Games is pretty stupid at times, they have a PS5 and Series X both on the wall with a price tag so everyone keeps asking if they are in stock but they never are. I guess that's one way to get people in.

Eoin said:
No individual European country generalises all that well into "Europe", but that's especially true for the UK with Xbox - the Xbox has always struggled in Europe as a whole, but the UK has always been its single strongest European territory, so Xbox doing well in the UK shouldn't be considered any sign of any kind of shift in general European sentiment.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Germany seems to be the opposite where Xbox does terrible, not sure why.
 
gothi

gothi

Prophet of Truth
Member
Jun 23, 2020
4,433
Ghostsonplanets said:
Nah, the pandemic certainly accentuated a cultural shift regarding socialization. As we needed to stay in home, a lot of people found themselves without avenue to socialize with friends. A PS4(which can be found cheap) is an item that can unlock the door for this digital world and actually can be found for sale.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Synohan said:
All systems are in high demand. It's hard to see either a PS5 or Xbox Series in the wild. People are hungry for next generation consoles and it's great to see Xbox and Sony selling well. It feels like these consoles are being sold before they're even available half the time.


I think the Pandemic is to thank for that. I know a lot of people who went out and bought PS4's late last year to connect with friends. You can find Pro's on the cheap depending on where you look, and most people don't want to compete with others in trying to get any of the next gen consoles which are barely in stock.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
Eoin said:
There'll be people who bought an Xbox One and might now feel that it's a good time to catch up on the PS4. There'll also be people new to console gaming (or returning to console gaming) wanting to pick up console and the PS4 is a great choice, as a relatively cheap, capable, popular, available machine with a huge library. For any popular-but-old machine there will also be a steady flow of people replacing machines that have died.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
These are all good points but I still find it amusingly bizarre.

The key times to buy a console (outside of launch) in the UK were:
At the beginning of lockdown (March 2020)
After furlough was introduced (early 2020)
When schools were closed (early 2020)

Last month heralded the ability to spend time with people in their garden, shops reopening, people going back to work and schools have been open for a while now. Couple that with further relaxation of restrictions in a few days I find it a very odd time to be buying a PS4 :)
 
LewieP

LewieP

Member
Oct 26, 2017
18,093
I suspect this is all supply side. Demand for both systems is through the roof. I've seen quite a few supply drops for Series X instantly sell out, but it's been even harder to find a PS5. I wonder how long it's going to take to satisfy untapped demand for both systems.
 
DarkVaber32

DarkVaber32

Member
Nov 15, 2018
1,202
Walken said:
Germany seems to be the opposite where Xbox does terrible, not sure why.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
This might sound stupid, and it's only an assumption, but people in Germany like to keep things old school. Game Pass is a subscription service, and some people like to own their games like they did before (that's also a reason why stuff like credit cards etc are not big in Germany either - rather pay right now, than keep buying stuff and seeing that big pay check at the end of the month - everything has its pros and cons, and people rather stick to what they are used to).
Everybody in their childhood pretty much had a PS1 or PS2, so I would assume that a lot of brand loyalty is going on aswell.
 
Iron Eddie

Iron Eddie

Banned
Nov 25, 2019
9,812
schneper said:
This might sound stupid, and it's only an assumption, but people in Germany like to keep things old school. Game Pass is a subscription service, and some people like to own their games like they did before (that's also a reason why stuff like credit cards etc are not big in Germany either - rather pay right now, than keep buying stuff and seeing that big pay check at the end of the month - everything has its pros and cons, and people rather stick to what they are used to).
Everybody in their childhood pretty much had a PS1 or PS2, so I would assume that a lot of brand loyalty is going on aswell.
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
I believe this dates back to even the Xbox 360 days.
 
Kouriozan

Kouriozan

Member
Oct 25, 2017
21,067
Yeah it's a matter of supply, Sony barely send anything to Europe, it's been drier than a desert here.
 
vivftp

vivftp

Member
Oct 29, 2017
19,751
My random guess is that the PS5 supply was reduced in some regions to increase the allocation for the upcoming China launch on May 15th.
 
Pancracio17

Pancracio17

▲ Legend ▲
Avenger
Oct 29, 2017
18,695
Is sony concentrating stock to a few territories? Or are there simply more xboxes being manufactured?
 
DionardoLicaprio

DionardoLicaprio

Member
Nov 14, 2017
1,587
Makes sense, I bet even in PS land Portugal and Spain, Xbox is surging since there is no ps5 stock.

i can find xbox series x and s used for almost 100€ off the original price (on major shops), and Xbox series has been available everywhere since it came out with little demand, but ps5 has been out for months (at least in Portugal).
 
vixolus

vixolus

Prophet of Truth
Member
Sep 22, 2020
54,276
DionardoLicaprio said:
Makes sense, I bet even in PS land Portugal and Spain, Xbox is surging since there is no ps5 stock.

i can find xbox series x and s used for almost 100€ off the original price (on major shops), and Xbox series has been available everywhere since it came out with little demand, but ps5 has been out for months (at least in Portugal).
Click to expand...
Click to shrink...
That's a crazy deal and I would think with FIFA next gen being on EA Play with game pass ultimate it would maybe get some on board.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.