The console war has been with us for about 40 years, with different protagonists over these four decades. But, from the 2000s to today, there are three companies that share the industry’s pie: Nintendo, Xbox, and PlayStation.
Today we are going to focus on the last two, Xbox and PlayStation, as Nintendo usually goes its own way, with consoles different from its rivals and always released mid-generation compared to its competitors. We could say that Nintendo plays in another league, even though the sport is the same (and with the Nintendo Switch, they have sold more than anyone ever, an unprecedented success).
With a chart developed by the Wall Street Journal, it is very easy to see how the console war between PlayStation and Xbox has gone since they first faced off, with the Xbox and PlayStation 2, more than 20 years ago.
PlayStation Always at the Forefront and the Great Success of the Xbox 360
In this article, we are not going to say anything new, nor anything that hasn’t already been said thousands of times on the web and in specialized magazines around the world, but it is true that being able to see the numbers so clearly helps to get a real picture of how these 24 years have gone between the two companies.
- In the first generation of Xbox (the second generation of PlayStation), the numbers were clear; there has never been such a difference between the two companies. PlayStation 2 sold 155 million consoles (it is Sony’s best-selling console ever) and Xbox in its first appearance reached almost 25 million units. That is, Sony sold 6 times more than Xbox.
- In the second generation, things evened out, for the first and last time in this historic rivalry. The very high launch price of the PS3 and the success of the Xbox 360 meant that at the end of the generation, Phil Spencer could pop the champagne for the first – and last – time in terms of sales. The PS3 sold 87.4 million units and Xbox 360 reached 84.9 million. A technical tie.
- In the third round of consoles, Sony won by a landslide, doubling the sales of the Xbox model. We are talking about the PS4 reaching 117 million units sold (again, one of the best-selling consoles in history) compared to the mere 57.9 million Xbox One units sold worldwide.
- And this last bout is another walkover for Sony in terms of consoles sold, with this generation being a most unusual situation (with the shortage of units and the lack of exclusives). PlayStation 5 has sold 61.7 million units and Xbox Series has only reached 28.3 million.
With all this data, it is clear to us why Xbox has been testing new policies, services, and all kinds of actions which from the outside, for customers, may seem contradictory. But when you are always behind, you have to try new things.
Meanwhile, Sony has announced an 800-euro PlayStation 5 Pro that seems to have very little place in a generation where there are very few exclusives that justify buying a mid-generation console that is slightly more powerful and much more expensive than the original version.
