Industry analysts in the UK are highlighting a stark issue for Sony, which last month faced the perfect storm of the effects of a hefty PS5 price rise and the arrival of Forza Horizon 6 on Xbox.
Christopher Dring from The Game Business posted that PlayStation 5 sales were down 50% in May and the console only sold 400 units more than the revitalizing Xbox, which is pretty incredible.
Dring posted: “In the UK, PS5 sales fell 50% in May. It only outsold Xbox Series S/X by 400 units (which saw a 12% rise, helped by console exclusive Forza Horizon 6). Switch 2 was easily No.1 (NielsenIQ).”
In the UK, PS5 sales fell 50% in May. It only outsold Xbox Series S/X by 400 units (which saw a 12% rise, helped by console exclusive Forza Horizon 6). Switch 2 was easily No.1 (NielsenIQ). There will be more in today's The Game Business Show/Newsletter thegamebusiness.substack.com
Of course, while the PS5 is set to remain, certainly in my opinion, way too expensive right now, Xbox does not have a Forza lined up every month, however, if November comes around and still has a Grand Theft Auto VI-sized release in it, things may be interesting.
GTA VI, of course, is not coming out on PC, at least not yet, leaving PlayStation 5 and Xbox to duke it out for sales. if we assume most people who already own a console of one type or another are going to get it, that leaves those who decide to buy a console just to play Rockstar’s newest game. Let’s take a look at current pricing.
Current prices of Xbox v PlayStation 5 models
Assuming UK official-store pricing, Xbox is currently undercutting PlayStation pretty clearly. The PS5 Digital Edition is listed at £519.99, the standard disc-drive PS5 at £569.99, and the PS5 Pro at a hefty £789.99. By comparison, Microsoft has the Xbox Series S at £299.99, the 1TB Series S at £349.99, the 1TB all-digital Series X at £449.99, the standard 1TB Series X at £499.99, and the 2TB Galaxy Black Series X at £589.99.
That means even the cheapest new PS5 is £170 more than the 1TB Series S, while the like-for-like disc-drive PS5 is £70 dearer than the standard Series X, and the PS5 Pro sits a full £200 above Xbox’s priciest current model.
For the US, the gap is a bit different: the PS5 Digital Edition is currently listed at $599, the standard PS5 disc console at $649, and the PS5 Pro at $899 via PlayStation Direct. On the Xbox side, the Series S 512GB is $399.99, the Series S 1TB is $449.99, the Series X 1TB Digital Edition is $599.99, the standard Series X 1TB disc model is $649.99, and the Series X 2TB Galaxy Black is $799.99.
So in the US, Sony and Microsoft are basically level on the main digital and disc machines. PS5 Digital vs Series X Digital, and PS5 disc vs Series X disc, but Xbox still has the cheaper entry point with the Series S, while Sony’s PS5 Pro now sits $100 above Microsoft’s most expensive current Xbox model.
So, where does the GTA VI cash get spent? Will GTA VI be better on PlayStation?
Around six weeks ago you would probably have been considered a fool if you bought an Xbox to play GTA VI. Microsoft’s console looked dead in the water, leaving Sony’s to lounge about in the pool in short shorts showing off to the passers by.
Now, though, if you are thinking about where your cash is going, the decision may be tougher. Also, take into account that Sony has also hiked the cost of its PS Plus subscription while Xbox has slashed its.
New Xbox Gaming CEO, Asha Sharma is on a mission to make Xbox relevant again, and has around five months to do so if GTA VI is on time. At the moment, though, it seems as though Sony is making her job easier.
The smart money would still be on new people choosing PS5 to play GTA VI, but I don’t think the gap is going to be anywhere close to what it would have been just a few short weeks ago.
Authored by
Paul McNally
Paul McNally has been around consoles and computers since his parents bought him a Mattel Intellivision in 1980. He has been a prominent games journalist since the 1990s, spending over a decade as editor of popular print-based video games and computer magazines, including a market-leading PlayStation title. Paul has written high-end gaming content for GamePro, Official Australian PlayStation Magazine, PlayStation Pro, Amiga Action, Mega Action, ST Action, GQ, Loaded, and the The Mirror. He has also hosted panels at retro-gaming conventions and can regularly be found guesting on gaming podcasts and Twitch shows. Believing that the reader deserves actually to enjoy what they are reading is a big part of Paul’s ethos when it comes to gaming journalism, elevating the sites he works on above the norm.
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