The rivalry between Xbox and PlayStation continues, and recently, there’s been an unexpected twist in Japan. Last week, the Xbox Series X and Series S consoles collectively managed to outsell the PS5. This might come as a surprise to many, as historically, PlayStation has dominated the Japanese market.
Let’s break down the numbers for a clearer picture. As per Famitsu’s weekly charts, a total of 3,301 Xbox units (comprising 2,903 Series X and 398 Series S) found new homes in Japan. On the other side, Sony sold 2,933 units, with 2,717 being the standard PS5 consoles and the remaining 216 as the PS5 Digital Edition.
Now, this isn’t the first time that Xbox has nudged ahead of PlayStation in weekly sales. Since their launch in November 2020, there have been three other instances where Xbox came out on top. In May 2022, 6,225 Xbox units were sold compared to PlayStation’s 2,693. June saw a similar trend, with 6,695 Xbox units against 3,035 for PlayStation. The gap widened further in September with Xbox selling 14,077 units, while PlayStation lagged behind at 11,180.
Previously, these spikes coincided with stock issues for the PS5 in Japan. It seemed that the tables turned for good when PlayStation’s Jim Ryan announced the resolution of stock shortages in Asia by December of the previous year. Following that announcement, PS5 had a consistent lead over the Xbox Series X/S.
But last week’s numbers suggest another change in the wind. Some speculate that the reason for the reduced PS5 sales could be due to consumers holding out for the upcoming PS5 ‘Slim’ model. This new iteration will replace the existing model, and no fresh stock is expected until the ‘Slim’ version hits the shelves.
