Next week we will see the birth of the first 9th generation devices with Microsoft introducing the Xbox Series on the market whether Xbox Series or Xbox Series S. After a major effort to prepare for their launch, the takeover of Bethesda, which rocked the industry, was followed by the inclusion of EA Play for GamePass and who knows what Microsoft is hiding from the surprises yet.
The most important question now is how these big steps will reflect the demand for these devices and how will they translate into sales? Microsoft had enriched the performance of the devices via pre-order numbers and stated that it was running out of the Japanese market in minutes – the PlayStation house.
But for the time being, let's move away from the sales competition between PlayStation and Xbox and focus more on Microsoft devices and performance expectations.
This time, the U.S. company will introduce two new-generation devices with different specifications, with Phil Spencer predicting that Xbox Series S will outperform his older brother in future sales.
For Xbox One, we all know that Microsoft stopped disclosing actual device sales figures for years, but it is estimated that its sales were around 50 million, less than half of the sales of the PlayStation 4.
Of course, we know the reasons for this because the launch of the device was full of errors whether the subject of linking it with the kinket, which made its price more expensive than the competitor or the issue of restricting used games and the need to connect to the Internet.
Although the company fixed the mistakes, there remained the issue of the lack of library exclusives where the device did not have games competing with what was provided by Sony teams and by Spencer's own admission, this generation of Xbox suffered from the lack of games of individual and exclusive phase and hence rushed to address the situation through acquisition deals sponsored by himself.
All these mistakes made Xbox One stumble with sales and does not complete the career of its predecessor, the Xbox 360, which achieved sales of more than 84 million units, and thus its sales disappointed the company, according to a statement by Spencer in 2016.
Where he said at the time that there was a goal set by the Xbox division under the leadership of Don Matrick, that Xbox One sales would reach 200 million units! It is a very ambitious number without a doubt and surpasses even the most successful device in their history, which is the 360, which witnessed a great control of the market in the seventh generation thanks to the support of third-party companies for it and obtaining great exclusives such as Alan Wake, and Peter Moore was able to snatch games that were previously restricted to PlayStation devices.
Who among us forgets the moment of announcing the arrival of GTA 4 for the Xbox 360 after everyone was expecting it to be exclusive to the Playstation 3. Sony was able only at the end of the age of the generation to rise from its failure and was able to sell more devices than its hard-won competitors, thanks of course to the PlayStation studios themselves.
Now some say that Microsoft 2020 is not Microsoft 2013, so today we are facing a new approach coming with more economical options for players via Series S, as it is now targeting a larger segment of customers by attracting people who do not care about performance and price is a more important factor for them.
Even its Series X comes with more powerful hardware than the PlayStation 5 at the same price. And do not forget that the All Access installment program will play an important role in Microsoft's success, especially with the economic conditions imposed by Corona.
In addition to this, we have the Gamepass service that will have more importance in the ninth generation than it was in this generation with the increase in the price of selling games to $ 70, and its value has also increased after the addition of EA Play, and this will help build the great momentum of the Xbox brand, which is what Microsoft is really seeking. . Added to this is the importance of Microsoft's acquisitions, which will strengthen the Xbox exclusive library.
All these factors lead some to believe that Microsoft is now in a better competitive position with Sony than it was in 2013. Therefore, its devices will achieve better sales at least this time compared to the current generation. For example, Ampere expects that the holiday season 2020 sales of Xbox Series X and S devices will be about 3.9 million, more than Xbox One sales by the end of 2013, which was estimated at 3 million units, with expectations that the ninth generation Xbox sales will reach 44.3 million until the end of 2024 In conclusion, we would like in this episode of the players' opinions to ask you about your expectations for the sales of Xbox Series devices, waiting for your answers in response to our tweet below.
