Xbox Series X|S Console Sales Down A Third In Europe With ‘Weaker Software Lineup’ In 2024

It’s a trend across the entire industry

by Ben Kerry 7h ago

Some fresh gaming industry sales data from the first half of 2024 in Europe has been detailed by the folks over at GamesIndustry.biz, and it showcases a slow year across the board despite some wins here and there – particularly for software.

Those wins start with the fact that unit game sales in the region are actually only down by about 1.6% compared to the first half of 2023. However, many of those sales aren’t for full-priced AAA games, so the actual sales revenue is expected to be a chunk lower than last year so far.

When looking at hardware, the story isn’t quite as rosy. All three major platform holders see losses when stacked up against the first half of 2023 – Sony’s PS5 is down 16%, Nintendo Switch is down 32%, and Xbox Series X|S is down 37% compared to last year.

Again, this slump in sales is likely in part because we just haven’t had as many big releases so far this year – you know, the kind of games that get talked about lots and push newcomers into buying console hardware. As is typically the case, the AAA release slate should pick up in the latter half of this year, while 2023 was an unusually strong year across the entire calendar.

It’s important to note that the console sales data used here is only from Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Italy, Portugal, Russia, Spain, Sweden and Switzerland – so it’s used more to give a rough idea of general trends rather than anything too concrete. Remember, the US and the UK are some of Xbox’s biggest markets – and both are absent from these hardware statistics.

Still, it’s all interesting to look at either way, especially in a time where rumours are swirling about Xbox cutting back on console marketing in the likes of Europe, Africa and the Middle East. The back half of this generation is sure to be an intriguing one for Microsoft and Team Xbox.

What do you make of these percentages and the general trend here? Talk to us in the comments down below.

[source gamesindustry.biz]

Ben is a News Writer at Pure Xbox, and is a fan of action, racing and straight-up shootin’ in any Xbox game he can get his hands on. When he’s not clutching an Xbox controller like his life depends on it, Ben spends his time listening to music that’s far too old for him, watching football on the telly and probably eating somewhere.

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