PS5 and Xbox console sales are down 25% on last year in the UK

This generation is already in decline (Sony/Microsoft/Metro.co.uk)

Gaming’s annus horribilis continues, as hardware sales fall by 30% compared to 2023 and there are no new entries in the UK software top 10.

When discussing Microsoft’s recent closure of multiple Bethesda studios, it’s important to point out that while their action seem short-sighted and callous, their central concern, that the traditional video games market is no longer growing, is entirely valid.

The reason so many see them at fault is not just because of their actions this week, but because everything that is happening right now, in terms of increasing development costs, has been obvious for years and neither they nor Sony has done anything about it – just flown into a blind panic in the last few months, when the problem could no longer be ignored.

There’s no better illustration of the issue than the latest hardware sales results for April in the UK, which saw console sales fall by 39% compared to last year. Overall console sales are down 30% so far in 2024, with Xbox Series X/S and PlayStation 5 both down 25% and the aging Nintendo Switch dropping by 38%.

For the Switch, in its twilight year, that’s nothing unusual, but it’s a disastrous result for Microsoft and Sony, given their consoles are not even four years old yet. This should be the very peak of the generation for them and to see sales falling by a quarter is unprecedented, especially given how the pandemic ensured a slow start for both formats.

One obvious problem is the lack of major first party titles from either company, but Sony has had notable exclusives from third parties this year, in Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth and Stellar Blade, and that hasn’t stopped their hardware sales from falling just as hard as Microsoft’s.

While the Nintendo Switch 2 is expected to be released in the first half of next year, the best hope for Microsoft and Sony, at this point, is GTA 6. Although there’s no clue as to when exactly it will be released next year and no guarantee that it won’t be delayed – since Rockstar Games are in no particular rush.

Not having to rely on other companies to provide a reason to buy your console is just one of many reasons why first party titles are so important, and yet it seems Microsoft and Sony have forgotten this in recent years.

There was some good news this month though, for Microsoft, as not only was former Xbox exclusive Sea Of Thieves the top selling game in Europe during April but Fallout 4 was number one in the UK over the same period.

The chart below doesn’t include data for every company, most notably not Nintendo, but it’s interesting that it doesn’t feature Sea Of Thieves at all – likely because it hasn’t got a physical release.

In general, it was a quiet month for new releases, with no new titles in the top 10 (Stellar Blade was the highest new entry at number 12) and UK game sales falling by over 7% to 22.3 million.

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It all paints a grim picture of the current state of the industry, especially when the top-selling title is nine years old and only selling again now because of the unexpected success of a TV tie-in.

With little in the way of major new releases scheduled for the rest of the summer it’s unlikely things are going to change anytime soon.

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