Xbox Keeps Outselling PlayStation In Japan Of All Places

Microsoft’s decision to sell a cheaper, less powerful next-gen console appears to be paying off.

Unlike the Xbox Series X and the PlayStation 5, the Xbox Series S has been readily available and in-stock pretty much everywhere. Since gamers have struggled to find the other, burlier consoles the Series S has become an attractive alternative, especially with its $300 price-tag.

Miraculously, this has translated into sales success in Japan, a country where Microsoft’s Xbox platform has had an enormously difficult time finding any sort of traction. PlayStation and Nintendo, both systems manufactured by Japanese companies, have boasted sales dominance in Japan for years, and that’s not about to change.

But the Xbox Series S has obviously made in-roads into the Japanese gaming market. During the week of May 9th – 15th, Japanese consumers purchased 6,120 units of the Xbox Series S compared to just 105 Xbox Series X consoles. The PS5 sold just 2,963 units total, including both Disc and Digital-only models.

Then, the week beginning June 13th Microsoft sold 3,423 Xbox Series S units compared to just 2,371 PS5 units.

Of course, this is not a trend that suggests Japanese gamers are migrating to Xbox in any meaningful way. The PlayStation 5 still typically comes out on top, and the Nintendo Switch remains a powerhouse. Once Sony is able to actually meet demand, I suspect we will almost never see the Series S on top of the Japanese sales charts.

In the US, the Nintendo Switch has been the best-seller in total units sold for 2022 so far, but the Xbox Series X/S has sold the second most units and generated the highest dollar sales year-to-date according to the NPD Group’s May 2022 report.

Clearly much of this can be chocked up to supply issues with the PlayStation 5 but that doesn’t change the fact that Microsoft’s strategy to release a cheaper, less powerful next-gen gaming system has been a major success story and a savvy move overall. Hopefully both the Xbox Series X and PlayStation 5 become easier for consumers to find in the near future as supply chain issues and other problems facing manufacturers are assuaged.