Despite supply issues, Xbox Series X/S is Microsoft's best-selling hardware generation to date
Microsoft has confirmed that the Xbox Series X/S is its best generation to date in terms of sales , despite on-going issues with availability and stock.
The scarcity and hard-to-get-hold-of nature of the Xbox Series X/S and PS5 has become something of a meme over the past year plus. The new generation of hardware makes lofty promises to consumers, but most are having a very simple problem: they just can't get hold of the damn machines.
That isn't impacting the sales of the hardware that is available, though. In a new interview with the New York Times, Microsoft has confirmed Xbox Series X/S systems continue to sell faster than any previous generation of Microsoft consoles. Take that, supply chain issues.
We know the Series X/S have been selling well for a while now; back in January last year, we heard that Xbox Series X/S was the top-selling platform in the UK (though, following that, it was reported that the PS5 outsold the Series X/S 2:1 in Q1 of the same year).
Per Xbox boss Phil Spencer in the interview, the shortage of Xbox Series X/S hardware is actually related more to increased demand for the machines – not because of fewer consoles being produced when compared to previous generations.
"Back in, what would it have been March or April 2020, we sold out of consoles, which we never do. Because you had this sudden swell of usage," he explained. "Our networks were tapped as people were coming on. And the team worked hard to fulfill that demand. And in some ways, we’re still trying to do this.
"When you think about trying to go get an Xbox or a new PlayStation right now in the market, they’re really hard to find. And it’s not because supply is smaller than it’s ever been. Supply is actually as big as it’s ever been. It’s that demand is exceeding the supply for all of us."
Spencer goes on to note that "we’ve"[Xbox has] sold more of this generation of Xboxes, which is Xbox Series X and S, than we had any previous version of Xboxes," and notes that the company's job, now, is to "meet the demand" of the consumer base.
So what does that mean in terms of numbers, then? Niko Partners (industry analysts) reckon Xbox Series X/S has shipped 12 million Series X/S units. Not bad, eh?
Let's see if Microsoft can keep this momentum up as the generation continues, and the company sees more competition from the likes of Sony, Nintendo and Valve in the hardware space.