The latest generation of Xbox consoles has reportedly fallen out of favour in Europe, according to an analysis by GamesIndustry.biz. Down 52% year-on-year, the Xbox Series X and S are trailing far behind the PlayStation 5 and Nintendo Switch in sales.
The industry sold 10.21 million games for consoles and PCs across Europe in October, with the sales highlighting several trends. One factor in Xbox's decline could be Sony's consistent output of exclusives - the PlayStation 5 had a sales boost of 143% when compared to October of 2022, likely due to the release of Spider-Man 2.
Sony is a main competitor, but not the only one. Nintendo consistently outshines Xbox with exclusives of its own, launching Super Mario Bros Wonder in October. When compared to September, both the Switch and PS5 saw an increase in sales while Xbox figures were down by 20%.
If exclusives are the driving force behind console sales, it’s fair to say that Starfield launching on Xbox and PC simultaneously contributed to the decline. It's standard practice and one of the main appeals of Game Pass, but arguably makes the average gamer less likely to shell out extra cash for a console when they can just subscribe to Game Pass.
When comparing each platform's exclusive of the year, it's clear that recognisable IPs like Spider-Man and Mario have the advantage. Starfield reportedly sold over 10 million copies, but if Xbox wants its hardware division to stay afloat, it would do well to get into get in developers' good graces.
Xbox recently shook the industry by acquiring Activision-Blizzard-King, so we may see fortunes change as its studios start churning out games. Our sister site StealthOptional reported that Sony was delaying several of its planned live-service games, while Halo Infinite is reaching new heights with its fifth season. We'll report on the latest, but it's fair to say that the future of the ever-raging console war is sure to be interesting.