There may already be many who have one PS4 or a Xbox One at home, but these consoles still have a few years of life left. Sales should continue apace, however, analysts have detected a significant drop in sales that both Sony and Microsoft might not have expected. For what is this?
Fewer games and fewer consoles are sold
This perspective comes through the figures that analysts of NPD Group have launched comparing the sales of January 2019 with those of January 2020. Sales may drop over the years, it is normal if we take into account that more and more people will have consoles and little by little the product loses relevance , however, the fall has been no less than 35%. Hard hit.
In addition to console hardware, sales of all types of console-related products (such as software, accessories, and internal purchases) have decreased by 25%, so the business in general has fallen considerably from one year to the next. But what is the reason for this resounding fall?
An interesting takeaway from the US NPD report is that PS4 and XB1 hardware sales in Jan 2020 are considerably lower than PS3 and 360 were in Jan 2013.
Next gen consoles are around the corner but both are declining sharper than expected.
Switch continues to remain steady. https://t.co/tBfiJVvJRd
- Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) February 14, 2020
PS5 without existing already hurts PS4
To find a reason to explain the sharp decline in sales, we would have to look at several fronts. On the one hand, we have the most obvious and the one that would first cross your mind. PS5 y Xbox Series X they are just around the corner, and the market is probably in a waiting period until the new consoles rear their legs.
But to receive the new consoles we still have a long way to go, and it is normal for users to continue buying current games. And that is where another factor comes into play. Big titles have been delayed for several months, and some have gone until the end of the year, this could dampen the desire to continue betting on the current generation, while reducing current sales.
It's a combination of multiple factors.
PS4 and XB1 have both held at current price points for a number of years.
Impact of early announcements for PS5/XSX with BC.
Shift to HD gaming across multiple devices.
Delays in key titles planned for 2020.
etc ...
- Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) February 14, 2020
As Daniel Ahmad rightly points out, both PS4 and Xbox One have maintained their prices for quite a few months now, so the lack of offers on the market could also affect sales at this start of the year. Will we see a drop in prices soon? Something tells us that we may not see them until the arrival of the new generation.