[Gameindustry.biz] Xbox console sales predicted to fall to just 13% share in 2025 in the UK (NielsenIQ/GfK Entertainment)

[Grand Conde]

Honestly that is 12% more than I expected.

Retailers were always going to drop Xbox over Game Pass | Opinion

Losing retailer support is never a positive, but as Microsoft's strategy focused increasingly on Game Pass, it became an acceptable trade-off

www.gamesindustry.biz

Bricks-and-mortar retailers have been gradually shrinking the shelf space devoted to Xbox for several years, and in many countries, it's increasingly rare to find Xbox products even on online retailers.

Specialist retailers still stock Xbox products, of course, but generalist retailers are tapping out. It's not a stretch to imagine that within the next year or so, Xbox products will be almost exclusively the preserve of specialist outlets and Microsoft's own online store.

According to data provided to GamesIndustry.biz by Dorian Bloch at NielsenIQ/GfK Entertainment, Microsoft's console accounted for just 11% of physical game sales in the UK in 2022, with Nintendo on 48% and Sony on 40%. The predicted numbers for 2025 are far lower, with Microsoft at just 6%, compared with 52% for Nintendo and 42% for Sony.

From the perspective of retailers, that makes it hard to justify supporting Xbox in a meaningful way. Sales of the hardware aren't great to begin with (Bloch says that Microsoft claimed a 31% share of UK console sales in 2022, but that number is predicted to fall to just 13% in 2025), so with physical software sales dwindling to a trickle, Xbox just isn't a good use of their bandwidth. Their decision to drop or de-emphasise the consoles in their stores and online platforms is perfectly logical given their own business incentives.

 

[Rekkapryde]

Spoiler

Spoiler

Smoke

 

[The Mad Titan]

Sony stans

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

Surprised it’s not lower tbh

Can’t see any reason to buy one at this point

 

[O³ (O cubed)]

They predict that it will drop to 6% this financial year.

But honestly its not surprising. Most physical Xbox games sold over here are discs with a digital key for downloads. Plus the fact the gamepass has COD, alongside other games and EA pass for FIFA, it doesn't make sense for them to buy anything physical.

MS can see that the future is digital.

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

They predict that it will drop to 6% this financial year.

But honestly its not surprising. Most physical Xbox games sold over here are discs with a digital key for downloads. Plus the fact the gamepass has COD, alongside other games and EA pass for FIFA, it doesn't make sense for them to buy anything physical.

MS can see that the future is digital.

Discontinuation announcement is imminent

It ain’t about physical vs digital, it’s about extremely low demand for xbox hardware. No one is buying these things

 

[Deep_Black_Conscious]

Discontinuation announcement is imminent

It ain’t about physical vs digital, it’s about extremely low demand for xbox hardware. No one is buying these things

Sony about to wipeout another competitor. I don't know what company could challenge Sony in console gaming after this.

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

Sony about to wipeout another competitor. I don't know what company could challenge Sony in console gaming after this.

Xbox wiped themselves out. Go an entire generation focusing on everything but games, launch a new console with no new games and then bullshyt aorund for another 5 years selling services and emulation and controllers wiht christmas sweaters on

 

[Deep_Black_Conscious]

Xbox wiped themselves out. Go an entire generation focusing on everything but games, launch a new console with no new games and then bullshyt aorund for another 5 years selling services and emulation and controllers wiht christmas sweaters on

Some of the worst decisions were selected. After the acquisitions, everyone really believed xbox was going to be a problem and despite all these studios, xbox is still about to be wiped out. Sony as a brand in console gaming also played a role because people were very critical towards xbox with any wrong step. That combination results in this. With no competitors, everyone is going to see the worst of Sony.

 

[Jaguar93]

The Xbox One era did so much damage to the Xbox brand

 

[Deep_Black_Conscious]

Discontinuation announcement soon. Gaming pcs next gen. A next gen xbox won't compete at all unless they are cheaper than the ps6, yet that probably still won't work.

 

[gurf]

Discontinuation announcement soon. Gaming pcs next gen. A next gen xbox won't compete at all unless they are cheaper than the ps6, yet that probably still won't work.

I don’t see them selling consoles/handhelds at a loss ever again.

 

[Deep_Black_Conscious]

I don’t see them selling consoles/handhelds at a loss ever again.

They won't as the price bumps show that's the strategy next gen, yet there would be no point to sell a console next gen when none are going to sell.
Some xbots are going to buy one, and then no sales after that

 

[Gizmo_Duck]

Whatever they release next is gonna do Wii U numbers

 

[winb83]

Sony about to wipeout another competitor. I don't know what company could challenge Sony in console gaming after this.

No one will. It's not an attractive market to begin with. The customer base is stagnate to shrinking. When the millennials get old enough it'll die out like cable TV is now. The generations after millennials like mobile games and free to play stuff like Fortnite. They not trying to spend $500+ on a dedicated gaming box.