Microsoft's next-gen Xbox Series X|S range has set a new sales record for Xbox. The consoles' June dollar sales bested a previous high reached by the brand in June 2011 and edged out the PS5 to become June's best-selling dollar sales platform.
Why has Xbox Series X|S had such a good June?
This news comes to us via NPD analyst Mat Piscatella's monthly spending thread. In the thread, Piscatella reveals that the Xbox Series range - which consists of the flagship Series X and the more budget-conscious Series S - was June's best-selling hardware platform in dollar sales terms. In unit sales terms, Microsoft's consoles were beaten by the Nintendo Switch in June, but this is still going to come as very pleasant news indeed to Microsoft. According to Piscatella, all major platforms "showed double or triple-digit dollar growth" compared to a year ago, so all of the big hitters have something to be happy about.
As Piscatella points out, "ports and content drops" had a huge impact on software sales in June. The month's best-selling game was the PS5's Ratchet and Clank: Rift Apart, with Call of Duty: Black Ops Cold War and Mario Golf Super Rush in second and third place respectively. Content sales look "flattish" compared to a year ago, as Piscatella says, but this is because sales last June skyrocketed to one-and-a-half times those seen in 2019, so some bounceback was inevitable. As Piscatella says, maintaining the growth of that year in itself is impressive.
How did the video game industry fare in general in June?
According to the NPD Group's analysis, June 2021 spending across hardware, content, and accessories grew 5% last year. First-half consumer spending increased by 15% when compared to a year ago. These numbers may not sound impressive, but considering that last June was just the third month into the global COVID-19 pandemic, the fact that the industry has remained strong is cause for celebration in itself.
You can check out Mat Piscatella and the NPD Group's full sales analysis thread over on his Twitter account. It's well worth poring over if you're a stats nerd like me and you want to see how the industry is doing across all of its different facets. Here's hoping that this level of growth can continue into next year and congratulations to Xbox on a strong showing in June.
Did you buy an Xbox Series X|S in June? Let us know in the comments below!
