Xbox did poorly on US Black Friday sales, with its SKUs beaten by an unknown console device called the Nex Playground. The motion gaming device outperformed Xbox Series hardware and placed among the top three best-selling consoles in the US.
Black Friday has ended, and we have the results from Circana. Surprisingly, the Nex Playground took third place, beating PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S. Nintendo Switch 2 led the sales, but its individual SKUs beat out both Xbox Series hardware.
In the UK, Xbox’s situation was not better, with Microsoft’s console ranking last in third place. Meanwhile, PlayStation 5 dominated the market with 62% of total Black Friday week hardware unit sales.
Microsoft’s poor performance raises questions about missed opportunities and the company’s approach to future hardware. Some analysts point to Xbox’s decision to focus gamers on other platforms and jacking up the price of Xbox Game Pass as a contributing factor.
However, Microsoft is still investing in its hardware, with plans to expand Xbox manufacturing by 4.8 million devices per year, primarily outside of China. The company aims to prepare for the upcoming release of GTA 6 in 2026.
Rising prices and increasing demand for AI-focused components are expected to make next-generation hardware more expensive. This may be a challenging time for the gaming industry as it becomes increasingly expensive.
Source: https://www.windowscentral.com/gaming/xbox/xbox-did-so-badly-on-us-black-friday-sales-it-was-beaten-by-a-console-youve-never-heard-of