Those Xbox Series numbers aren't bad at all considering the fact that excluding the second half of 2021, they've had basically nothing for the generation.
The thing about Jan - May is we don't have actual numbers to show how big (or small) the gap for Xbox was over PS5 in those months. We can roughly assume what April's numbers were because if sources are to be believed April 2022 was Xbox's best month ever in unit and dollar sales; they had the unit record previously with 360 (~450K) and dollars record with XBO (although in that month I think they were outsold by PS4). However, without knowing PS5's numbers for that month there isn't much we can do.
Regardless, I think the numbers in that tweet are a bit damning for MS/Xbox for two reasons. One, it shows that PS5's been increasing its sales gap over Xbox every month since June of last year; we already know they outsold Xbox for December according to NPD in unit & dollar sales, the question is how big was the gap. If the trend established so far is anything and if December is anything like November, then December was a
bloodbath for Xbox, in its strongest territory no less.
The other, more poignant thing it reinforces is the likely global sales gap which, and I've been saying this for a while
personally, is probably bigger than some want to think. US & UK combined account traditionally for at least 60% of Xbox's total global sales (the 360 for example, the ratio was even higher IIRC b/c US got it to 47 million and then you add UK on top of that (8.4 million from a quick search), accounts for a larger percentage (over 65% of 360's global sales were in just US & UK markets). So if U.S sold-through LTD by end of the 2022 was 8.736 million, and (being generous here; I couldn't find 2022 Series sales numbers for UK) UK being at 3 million (Series reportedly reached 1 million by end of 2021 some I'm literally
throwing them 2 million in one year here), then combined they would account for 11.736 million units. Assuming the 60/40 ratio holds true, then global Xbox Series sales by end of 2022 would be at just 16.4 million sold-through, maybe
just shy of 17 million throwing in 500K for non-US/UK ROTW 2020.
In other words, it'd mean at least as of the start of this year, Xbox Series would have been trending behind XBO (reached 18 million by its 26th month), and that should be
VERY worrying for fans of the brand and is probably a point of concern for Microsoft as well. After all, they have all the data, but there's a reason they aren't putting out certain PR statements relating to sales. Not even in relation of Series compared to 360 & XBO. If we get no such statements at the investor's call, then it's just going to solidify the estimates being stated here.
The bigger issue then is, how much is due to lack of supply and how much is simply due to lack of demand? Because if I'm being honest, amongst the whole market, it would be a mix of both. But what does that mix look like? Supply is always theoretically easier to fix than demand issues, but I think Xbox's issues are mostly stemming from lowered demand. People's gaming time is limited and between PC (Steam), PlayStation 4/5 and Switch, what is Xbox Series really bringing to the table that clearly stands out as unique and of value compared to other options, for the majority of the market?
At the very least, MS should start prioritizing Series X availability in US & UK and, more importantly, promote the damn thing. All their marketing has centered on Series S & Game Pass but that is clearly not having a resonating effect with most would-be customers, otherwise their numbers would be better. So it's time to shift, and if they finally start getting some big content coming regularly, they can at the very least stave off losing any further market share to PlayStation in US & UK, but it is absolutely not going to be easy and I don't see RedFall, Forza or even Starfield being enough.
