Could the lack of console supply jeopardize the balance between Xbox and PlayStation?

Getting a next-gen console at launch was an odyssey that left thousands of potential buyers waiting for a new wave of bookings to get theirs. In this Xbox Series X vs PS5 sales comparison, it is clear that this generation will have more competition, but for now the first known data is completely conditioned by one simple reason: the lack of unity.

Yesterday I told you about Xbox Series X sales | S in Spain, results quite similar to what was expected, but which were limited by the number of units that Microsoft has decided to distribute in Spain. Indeed, it is very suspicious that the units sold for the Xbox Series X | S are so similar to those of the Xbox One, so let’s imagine that Microsoft has estimated sales below 15,000 units and they managed to sell each of those units.

On the one hand, this strategy ensures that everything you put up for sale ends up selling, but on the other hand you could lose potential sales, something that if we see comments from fans in Spain it is clear that they have been left with the desire for their Xbox. As in Spain, we see this dynamic in other parts of the world and this is it Xbox Series X | S is sold out all over the world.

Xbox Series X vs PS5: who was most affected by the lack of stock?

Going back to this face to face between Microsoft and Sony, PlayStation 5 was not left behind and also suffered from a lack of stock globally. In fact, Sony recently announced that it will try to have new stock available before Christmas, so factories and manufacturers will be furious to have those new consoles on time.

Thus, as with the Xbox, PlayStation failed to catch up with the units, but thanks to the success in the past generation of the PlayStation and Sony were able to start producing consoles before Microsoft. surely the global sales that will reach us at the end of the year will leave PlayStation in front of Xbox. In fact, this lack of units was confirmed by Phil Spencer in a recent interview, in which he said he was waiting for a new technology from AMD to build consoles, technology that arrived in August, so much so that he tells us that Xbox Series X | S has been in the works since August.

It is clear that the current world situation is affecting the creation and distribution of Xbox Series X | S and PS5, but Could the lack of console supply jeopardize the balance between Xbox and PlayStation? As I said earlier, Phil Spencer admitted that the Xbox was a little behind Sony in terms of units produced, so if we trust the global trend where all that Xbox for sale ended up selling, it is clear that Xbox would have sold more.

But of course, the same happens with PS5. Despite supposedly making multiple consoles, the lack of PS5 around the world is more than patented, so both machines are in the same situation. The moment we know the real question for PS5 and Xbox Series X | S is somewhat uncertain for me and anyone, as if we continue in the current situation for several months, the supply problems will continue there, so we will face a cycle where new units are opened, sold out in seconds and people complain that they have out of units. So many months will go by where we will go to a game store and We won’t be seeing boxes or Xbox Series X or PS5 due to lack of stock.

But, on the other hand, we have forecasts from sales analysts like Benji-Sales who are encouraged to say that In the US, the shortage of stocks will affect PS5 more than Xbox Series X, so the Microsoft console will sell more:

I will not deny it, this prediction has upset all the patterns and surprised me, even if Benji may know something that we do not know. On the one hand, the possibility that the new Xbox shipments will outnumber those of the PS5 and on the other hand, that although Sony hasn’t explicitly confirmed this, the same Xbox units were produced or even less, which would be a shock that would contradict even Phil Spencer.

Will the number of units sold and the difference between the two consoles therefore matter? Well, not much, the truth (and now is when after releasing all this talk you put your hands to your head). Mainly because Xbox’s approach is to count the players in its Xbox ecosystem, via PC, console or Game Pass, so we hardly know exactly the number of consoles sold in the world, since, as Phil Spencer demonstrated, selling a piece of plastic is less important than counting users.

Last updated 2020-11-27. Prices and availability may differ from those published.

Finally, the conclusion I can draw from all this disappointment of figures, lack of stocks and fever for the next generation is this Who among us owns a next-generation console, be it PS5 or Xbox Series X | Yes, he can feel lucky. And that unless we’re shareholders of Sony or Microsoft, we shouldn’t worry about who sells the most and should focus on enjoying our console (or both).