PS5 Sales Are Outpacing PS4 in the U.S., Xbox Series X and S Lags Well Behind Xbox One

It’s a mixed picture for video game console sales in the United States, with the PlayStation 5 still outpacing its predecessor, the PlayStation 4, but the Xbox Series X and S lagging far behind the Xbox One.

According to the most recent data from Circana, after each platform’s first 52 months in the market, PS5 unit sales exceed PS4’s sales pace by 7%, while Xbox Series X and S combined now trails Xbox One by 19%.

As positive as the picture is for Sony’s console effort in the U.S., especially as it comes without a PS5 price cut, it’s yet more depressing news for Microsoft. The Xbox Series consoles have for some time struggled for sales globally, and Microsoft has admitted it lost the so-called console war a long time ago in the face of competition from PlayStation and Nintendo Switch.

Microsoft, of course, takes a bigger picture view when it comes to determining the success of its gaming business. It looks to PC as a major growth area, is pushing its subscription service Game Pass across multiple devices, and is launching many of its Xbox games on rival consoles in a bid to boost its bottom line. Indiana Jones and the Great Circle, for example, will hit PS5 soon, as will Forza Horizon 5. Doom: The Dark Ages, meanwhile, is set to launch on PS5 at the same time as PC and Xbox in May.

There have been questions over whether Microsoft might call it a day for Xbox consoles as a result of the failure of the Xbox Series X and S, but the company was recently reported to have green lit a next-gen Xbox for release in 2027, as well as an Xbox handheld during the same year.

This console is reportedly a premium successor to the Xbox Series X, and alongside a first-party Xbox gaming handheld and new controllers will allegedly round out Microsoft’s console offering in 2027.

Windows Central reported that the next-gen Xbox will be more like a PC than any Xbox before it, and will support third-party storefronts such as Steam, the Epic Games Store, and GOG. Continued backwards compatibility is a given.

Last year, Xbox president Sarah Bond said Microsoft was “moving full speed ahead on our next generation hardware, focused on delivering the biggest technological leap ever in a generation.”

There is much speculation around the future of consoles generally. As mentioned, Xbox Series X and S are floundering in the ‘console war,’ and Sony has suggested PlayStation 5 is approaching the second half of its life. While Nintendo is set to launch Switch 2 later this year, there is growing concern that the traditional video game console business could be under threat.

Spencer has said in interviews that the console business has failed to grow meaningfully in recent years, offering a sizable but static customer base that is increasingly playing a handful of enormous games and leaving little room for everything else. Last year, former Xbox executive Peter Moore told IGN that Microsoft would have been discussing whether consoles have a future.

According to Circana’s data, console sales are in a slump right now. February video game hardware spending fell by 25% when compared to a year ago, to $256 million. That’s the lowest February total for video game hardware spending since the $184 million reached in February 2020.

PS5 was once again the best-selling hardware platform of the month across both units and dollars. Xbox Series ranked second in both measures. Accessories spending in February declined by 8% when compared to a year ago, to $220 million.

The industry overall is having a particularly tough time. February 2025 projected U.S. consumer spending across video game hardware, content, and accessories declined 6% when compared to a year ago, to $4.5 billion. Spending so far this year is 11% lower than at the same point in 2024, at $9.0 billion.

Video game content spending, specifically, fell 4% compared to a year ago, to $4 billion. Non-mobile subscription spending growth of 9% was offset by declines in mobile (-4%), as well as full game and add-on content spending across both console (-11%), and the PC, cloud and non-console VR (-4%) segments.

Still, there is hope things will improve this year. Some analysts have said the Nintendo Switch 2 could be the biggest console launch of all time irrespective of its price. And then there’s the looming behemoth that is Grand Theft Auto 6, which is still set for release in fall 2025 on PS5 and Xbox Series X and S only, and could end up as the biggest entertainment launch of all time.

Strauss Zelnick, boss of Rockstar parent company Take-Two, has said he expects GTA 6 to spark a surge in console sales. “When you have a big title in the market and we have many of them coming, historically that has sold consoles,” Zelnick told IGN.

“And I think that will happen this year. I don’t think tariffs are going to be our friend, but I think there will be a meaningful uptick in console sales in calendar 25 because of the release schedule, not just coming from us, but coming from others. So I’m not concerned about that [console sales falling]. I think the trend that you’d want to focus on is this increasing share of the market that is reflected in PC.”

Wesley is the UK News Editor for IGN. Find him on Twitter at @wyp100. You can reach Wesley at [email protected] or confidentially at [email protected].