If we focus on desktop consoles with “next-generation power”, Europe has been for more than two decades a territory clearly sonier. That doesn’t appear to have changed based on the latest data released by GamesIndustry.bizwhich show that in January 2023 posted a 202% increase in PlayStation 5 sales compared to the same month of the previous year, while the sales of Xbox Series X|S fell 32% and those of Nintendo Switch 11% in the same months.
Sony seems to be ready to shelve a dark era in which speculation put the price of PlayStation 5 through the roof. While this helped some to line their pockets at the expense of certain consumers willing to pay any price for anything, it also did damage to the brand’s reputation. In order to settle the matter and regain consumer confidence, Jim Ryan, President of Sony Interactive Entertainment, officially announced the end of the PlayStation 5 shortage at CES 2023.
Exposing some concrete data, PlayStation 5 sales are up 98% in the UK, with many people buying the console reportedly alongside God of War Rangarok, the second installment of the adventures of the Greek god Kratos through the Nordic lands. Changing the continent, PS5 also became the best-selling console in North America during the past January 2023 according to data from the NPD Group, although there is no comparative data for that subcontinent.
We see how PlayStation, for the second generation in a row, is clearly beating its equivalent rival Xbox in Europe, a trend that has generally been the trend with the exception of Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3, a generation in which the console of Microsoft was initially ahead due to Sony’s blunders, starting with an introductory price of €600 that sounded crazy at the time.
For its part, Nintendo Switch seems to have begun its decline, which is normal if we see that the original model of the console began to be marketed in 2017. The hybrid console of the Great N will have life during the course of 2023 with titles such as Metroid Prime Remastered and The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdombut on the other hand, there are analysts who predict the announcement of a new console for 2024 that, at least for now, aims to be a continuous line product.
It seems that Sony has reason for the optimism it showed earlier this monthand this despite the fact that Microsoft tries to cut ground with the acquisition of companies like ZeniMax (Bethesda and Id Software) and Activision-Blizzard.
