Are you one of those who still can’t get your hands on a next-generation console? You’re not the only one who feels this way. As the global chip scarcity worsens rather than improves, new consoles are becoming increasingly scarce on store shelves, with the PlayStation 5 appearing to be particularly afflicted. So much so that the Xbox Series X/S outsold the PS5 for the first time in both North America and Europe in February.
Microsoft’s victory is owing to the Xbox Series S’s relative availability, as it is the only new console that can be found semi-reliable on store shelves. However, Microsoft’s win is partly hollow, given overall console sales in February were down due to supply concerns.
According to the NPD Group, hardware sales in North America fell 27% year over year in February, and the situation was even worse in Europe, where console sales fell 32%. Also, while the Xbox Series X/S outperformed the PlayStation 5, the Nintendo Switch outperformed both.
It’s difficult to say when the supply will catch up because Sony has given very little information about PlayStation 5 supplies for the rest of 2022. Let’s hope that we can eventually get to a point where console sales reflect what players genuinely desire, rather than what they can get their hands on. Unfortunately, we aren’t quite there yet.
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