Xbox Claims the Title of Console Wars Loser

Since last year, Microsoft has been trying its hardest to acquire Activision Blizzard. They’ve had various barriers every step of the way. But, currently, that barrier is the FTC. In discussion about their want and/or need to absorb the Diablo IV publisher, they’ve admitted to something that Xbox fanboys have tried to ignore for a long time. Xbox lost the console wars.

Now, “Console War” is not a new term. In fact, it’s been around for nearly every generation of video game consoles, dating back to the Atari vs. Intellivision and Fairchild Channel F. Anyone that lived through the 90s likely also remembers Sega Vs. Nintendo. For the past two decades, it’s been a battle royale between Microsoft, Sony, and Nintendo. Through Microsoft’s own admission this past week, they are the only system not taking home a chicken dinner.

X (box) does not mark the spot

Submitted via court documents (that GameCrate has viewed via The Verge), Microsoft broke down the reality of the console wars. Out of all console sales, Xbox only accounts for 16% of them. They also only have 21% of the console install base, which is “currently in use by gamers”. That’s a grim number for the brand.

VGChartz

Looking at VGChartz, this shouldn’t be a surprise to anyone. Worldwide, the PlayStation 5 and the Nintendo Switch are within a small margin of each other at around 36 million units sold each total. The Xbox Series X and S, on the other hand, is coming in dead last (and it isn’t even close) at only 21 million units sold, worldwide.

Needless to say, Nintendo’s cheaper, more portable Nintendo Switch has consistently dominated the market in all regards. It may not have the same power as its competitors, but versatility and ease of access is key here. Sony’s PlayStation line has also been one of the big money-makers with a solid line-up of games since its original inception during the 1990s.

Microsoft is, in all reality, the underdog here. It came into a flooded market in 2001 and, although very popular due to its library of games, has been the loss-leader of the 21st century. Their attempt to acquire Activision Blizzard comes off more as desperation than monopoly at this point. Owning Activision would mean they control games like Call of Duty.

Although the CoD franchise are both on Xbox and PlayStation systems, Sony has always had the lion’s share of the customer base. In fact, major events put on by Activision, such as the old Call of Duty World League, were historically played on PlayStation consoles. The current Call of Duty League events also follow suit.

These insights all show a very different market than is generally talked about aside from hushed whispers. In fact, Xbox boss Phil Spencer even admitted, this past week, that Microsoft only bought Bethesda to keep Starfield from being a potential PlayStation exclusive.

If you want to read more about gaming wars, check out our recent take on console vs. PC gaming. If you want to see what Xbox or PlayStation have coming out in July. we got you as well.