This year's U.S. Black Friday console sales saw a dramatic shift, as the relatively unknown, family-oriented motion-sensing console, Nex Playground, unexpectedly broke into the top three. It even surpassed the Xbox Series in SKU sales, casting a further shadow over Microsoft's already struggling console market outlook.
Data from research firm Circana indicates that the hottest-selling console on Black Friday was Nintendo's next-generation console, the Nintendo Switch 2. Nex Playground closely followed, while Xbox landed at the bottom of the rankings for both SKU and brand sales.
Circana analyst Mat Piscatella further noted that when calculating overall brand sales share, the PS5 dominated with a 47% lead. The Switch 2 followed with 24%, and Nex Playground surprisingly secured third place with 14%. The remaining approximately 15% is estimated to be for the Xbox Series X|S.
In other words, Xbox captured less than a 20% sales share during a major U.S. shopping season, a stark contrast to Microsoft's repeated assurances in recent years that it remains "committed to console generation updates."
Adding to the concern, Microsoft did not offer official price reductions for the Xbox Series X|S during Black Friday. Instead, only a few retailers independently offered bonus gift cards, causing Xbox to completely lose ground in the price war.
This passive stance has led observers to recall Microsoft's past hardware "missteps," from Windows Phone and Skype to Kinect and Cortana. Many products Microsoft abandoned now align with market demand. Notably, if Kinect were repackaged for family entertainment or the children's market, it could potentially compete with Nex Playground for the same audience.
However, Microsoft's current strategy involves promoting multi-platform releases and de-emphasizing its own hardware, while also adjusting Xbox Game Pass pricing. This makes it harder for players to perceive Xbox as an attractive "console brand."
Despite these challenges, Microsoft recently signaled plans to increase Xbox annual production by nearly 4.8 million units and relocate some manufacturing lines out of China. This move is interpreted by many as preparation for the late 2026 launch of "GTA 6." Simultaneously, the market faces rising storage and memory prices, with AI algorithm demand driving up costs. Major manufacturers like Crucial are also scaling back production, indicating that the next generation of consoles will inevitably see higher price tags.
via： Windows Central