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[Kvally]

Fair point but some of those prices are barely break even and that’s assuming they didn’t pay sales tax when they bought it.

Hardly worth the effort but that’s what they get.

If/when MS ever gets on a good AAA game release cadence, things will be fine and consoles will sell. We have to remember, PS does so well because they got the most important ingredient. GAMES. If Xbox never gets that cadence going, it's just going to be more of the same that has happened the past 20 years. Xbox will just "exist", but trail as usual.

 

[Henry Panic]

Even the areas that do have some X there like Deepcups Target store, there's still usually not many of them.

I think real X improvements in the future will have similar numbers as the PS5 has now with some stores having boxes stacked on the floor at Best buy Walmart, and 5 of them in those small Target cases.

They can't sell many copies of Redfall with just a weak digital exclusive console. The game is being marketed for graphics and many will only buy it for 4K.

If there's no improvement by then stick a fork I'm it.

 

[Henry Panic]

It all goes back to demand PlayStation can do these new models because they are actually selling enough units for it to make sense for them to invest in a new model

Sony had the first (and 2nd) PS5 revisions quitely when both consoles were practically tied. These minor revisions never affected the outer appearance of the console itself, but lowered costs and made them easier to manufacturer.

The X could have done the same thing during those two years and Microsoft didn't do it.

It's really just that simple. They didn't do it.

 

[onQ123]

You think retailers are opting out on having Xbox on their shelves? I don't buy that.



Yeah, availability seems to change greatly from one area to another.

Not saying that retailers are doing this but being that most games are being sold digitally I don't think Retailers are as happy to take up so much space with consoles .

 

[Topher]

Not saying that retailers are doing this but being that most games are being sold digitally I don't think Retailers are as happy to take up so much space with consoles .

Most retailers I go to have space reserved for those consoles though. They have sections dedicated to Xbox. I just don't see this as a retailer choice.

 

[onQ123]

Sony had the first (and 2nd) PS5 revisions quitely when both consoles were practically tied. These minor revisions never affected the outer appearance of the console itself, but lowered costs and made them easier to manufacturer.

The X could have done the same thing during those two years and Microsoft didn't do it.

It's really just that simple. They didn't do it.

How can Series X be practically tied in sales with PS5 when Series X is half of Series sales ?

What I was talking about is making changes when it's worth it . There is a difference between Sony making changes to one console after selling 10 million of the old model vs MS making changes to 2 consoles after selling less than 5 million each of the older models.

 

[Kvally]

Series X is half of Series sales

 

[onQ123]

Most retailers I go to have space reserved for those consoles though. They have sections dedicated to Xbox. I just don't see this as a retailer choice.

The ones I seen lately have really small Xbox sections now

 

[onQ123]

You're clearly ignoring the point

 

[Kvally]

The ones I seen lately have really small Xbox sections now

I have a home in Wisconsin for half the year (I am there now). The Walmart and Best Buy you guys have here in the states where I am here has the same size aisle setups for all three consoles. What I wouldn't give to have larger department stores by my home in Norway!

 

[Woopah]

This is 100% true. But I'm talking about the actual experience the average current-gen gamer is having. When websites do comparisons for Xbox Series games vs. PS5 games, we should keep in mind that half the Xbox current gen owners don't even have the XSX.

If a website like Digital Foundry was doing a graphics comparison then yes, Series S owners won't get as good an experience as Series X owners. Just like PS4 owners won't get as good an experience as PS4 Pro owners.

 

[Henry Panic]

How can Series X be practically tied in sales with PS5 when Series X is half of Series sales ?

I'm assuming you're not being serious here.

But just in case somehow got confused, the series was only practically tied with the pS5 because the X was not a 7:1 ratio with the S. That is why the sales between the two wasn't far apart originally and people were not frequently thinking the S was a hindrance and instead though it was a 'genius' move.

Ever since PS5 slowly increased stock and S became more plentiful, Xbox as a whole started to fall behind way before Sony getting the shipments fixed a few months ago. Around the time of Halo Infinite.

While people rightfully mention the lack of AAA games last year, even if they did have some games release, it would have only sold more S consoles with only a minor bump for the X consoles internationally because having Starfield come out in 2022 would not get more units made in the assembly line. There still wouldn't be more X consoles.

There is only so many people that want a cheap digital-only 1080p console and Microsoft indicated that when both consoles were revealed. The long time of X shortages is probably costing Microsoft more than just lower sales

I wouldn't be surprised if several people waiting who were impacted by the X not being available, got impatient and brought a PS5 instead. Has mostly the same games, 4K, Ray tracing, and they can buy a Xbox stick placement controller for it if they don't like the Duel Sense.

There is a difference between Sony making changes to one console after selling 10 million of the old model vs MS making changes to 2 consoles after selling less than 5 million each of the older models.

This never happened, Sonys first minor internal change was when both were near even. I believe you understand full well what's being said.

I don't get this need to make excuses for Microsoft's bad decision making. Even the Xbox One got an internal revision in less than a year.

 

[Nothing1234]

We don't know the Series S/ Series X split and probably never will tbh.

 

[Three]

I'm assuming you're not being serious here.

But just in case somehow got confused, the series was only practically tied with the pS5 because the X was not a 7:1 ratio with the S. That is why the sales between the two wasn't far apart originally and people were not frequently thinking the S was a hindrance and instead though it was a 'genius' move.

You've missed his point. What you're saying would only make matters worse. He is saying that they didn't do an X revision because the sales volume wouldn't be high like the PS5 to make a revision worth it. You said it's practically tied with the PS5, but not even total X+S is. X at a generous 50% of series sales wouldn't be anywhere near it.

 

[Henry Panic]

You've missed his point. What you're saying would only make matters worse. He is saying that they didn't do an X revision because the sales volume wouldn't be high like the PS5 to make a revision worth it. You said it's practically tied with the PS5, but not even total X+S is. X at a generous 50% of series sales wouldn't be anywhere near it.

Except it was high enough to be worth it, and Digital PS5 had a higher share as well back then.

X could have had a revision during the two years PS5 and digital PS5 had them.

There is absolutely zero reasonable excuse you can give Microsoft for knowing about these issues ahead of time and doing nothing while they were closer to their competitor.

What's happening now is simply consequences of inaction by bad leadership.

It's almost April, nothing has changed, and if nothing is changing now it likely won't in May when Redfall releases either.

Sometimes it just as simple as having a bad team. In this case a logical corporation would clean house with new staff.

 

[TheGodfather07]

There's clearly some sort of supply issue for xbox. If you look at the sales last holiday, it was the lowest xbox sales in November for 10 years and xbox usually sells well during the holidays. Surely they haven't lost that much mindshare so fast? I have to say the marketing is poor too. I see PS5 ads everywhere. Not only on its own but also alongside big 3rd party games. I hardly ever see ads for xbox snd when I do it's the series s. Not sure what's going on with xbox. Their strategy seems to be all over the place.

 

[onQ123]

I'm assuming you're not being serious here.

But just in case somehow got confused, the series was only practically tied with the pS5 because the X was not a 7:1 ratio with the S. That is why the sales between the two wasn't far apart originally and people were not frequently thinking the S was a hindrance and instead though it was a 'genius' move.

Ever since PS5 slowly increased stock and S became more plentiful, Xbox as a whole started to fall behind way before Sony getting the shipments fixed a few months ago. Around the time of Halo Infinite.

While people rightfully mention the lack of AAA games last year, even if they did have some games release, it would have only sold more S consoles with only a minor bump for the X consoles internationally because having Starfield come out in 2022 would not get more units made in the assembly line. There still wouldn't be more X consoles.

There is only so many people that want a cheap digital-only 1080p console and Microsoft indicated that when both consoles were revealed. The long time of X shortages is probably costing Microsoft more than just lower sales

I wouldn't be surprised if several people waiting who were impacted by the X not being available, got impatient and brought a PS5 instead. Has mostly the same games, 4K, Ray tracing, and they can buy a Xbox stick placement controller for it if they don't like the Duel Sense.



This never happened, Sonys first minor internal change was when both were near even. I believe you understand full well what's being said.

I don't get this need to make excuses for Microsoft's bad decision making. Even the Xbox One got an internal revision in less than a year.

You've missed his point. What you're saying would only make matters worse. He is saying that they didn't do an X revision because the sales volume wouldn't be high like the PS5 to make a revision worth it. You said it's practically tied with the PS5, but not even total X+S is. X at a generous 50% of series sales wouldn't be anywhere near it.

I'm not even sure why they acting like that's hard to understand.

Microsoft said it themselves that they released 2 models because they didn't expect manufacturing cost to go down like it usually does for consoles so they got the low price model & high price models out from the start. They are not going to be as aggressive as Sony getting the PS5 manufacturing cost down when they already have a low price model they are waiting for a bigger die shrink instead of making a few models with a small die shrink.

 

[MasterCornholio]

I'm not even sure why they acting like that's hard to understand.

Microsoft said it themselves that they released 2 models because they didn't expect manufacturing cost to go down like it usually does for consoles so they got the low price model & high price models out from the start. They are not going to be as aggressive as Sony getting the PS5 manufacturing cost down when they already have a low price model they are waiting for a bigger die shrink instead of making a few models with a small die shrink.

That doesn't sound right to me. I always thought the point of the Series S was to undercut the competition and sell a ton of systems.

 

[Three]

Except it was high enough to be worth it, and Digital PS5 had a higher share as well back then.

X could have had a revision during the two years PS5 and digital PS5 had them.

The internals of the DE and regular PS5 are the same bar not including the drive. A redesign for one is a redesign for both.

 

[onQ123]

That doesn't sound right to me. I always thought the point of the Series S was to undercut the competition and sell a ton of systems.

That part goes without saying but someone from Microsoft said that .

 

[MasterCornholio]

That part goes without saying but someone from Microsoft said that .

I'm curious if Microsoft knew sales would be like this. Always a possibility that they are fine with the results that they have.

 

[onQ123]

I'm curious if Microsoft knew sales would be like this. Always a possibility that they are fine with the results that they have.

They knew Series X wasn't going to sell much on it's own & Series S was the shot at a bigger market cashing in on the people who usually buy consoles later in the generation when the prices come down.



It seems that Switch & PS5 having a $399 model kinda put a damper on Series S hitting it's mark.

 

[MasterCornholio]

They knew Series X wasn't going to sell much on it's own & Series S was the shot at a bigger market cashing in on the people who usually buy consoles later in the generation when the prices come down.



It seems that Switch & PS5 having a $399 model kinda put a damper on Series S hitting it's mark.

With what I'm hearing about the S they might have overestimated the demand for it. But it's hard to tell since they never release any numbers for it.

 

[FrankWza]

This is 100% true. But I'm talking about the actual experience the average current-gen gamer is having. When websites do comparisons for Xbox Series games vs. PS5 games, we should keep in mind that half the Xbox current gen owners don't even have the XSX.

Yup. Using the term generation can no longer be used to refer to specs, capabilities or limitations without clarification. It's basically just a time frame now. Even more than last gen with the pro systems

 

[mckmas8808]

If a website like Digital Foundry was doing a graphics comparison then yes, Series S owners won't get as good an experience as Series X owners. Just like PS4 owners won't get as good an experience as PS4 Pro owners.

But 95% or more people had a PS4 and not the PS4 Pro. So it didn't matter in your average conversation. That's not the case with the Xbox series consoles. It's 50-50 at best.

I'm not even sure why they acting like that's hard to understand.

Microsoft said it themselves that they released 2 models because they didn't expect manufacturing cost to go down like it usually does for consoles so they got the low price model & high price models out from the start. They are not going to be as aggressive as Sony getting the PS5 manufacturing cost down when they already have a low price model they are waiting for a bigger die shrink instead of making a few models with a small die shrink.

Hmmm......one wonders if the bolded is accurate and MS just misjudged the appeal of a weak next-gen system that was cheap.

Yup. Using the term generation can no longer be used to refer to specs, capabilities or limitations without clarification. It's basically just a time frame now. Even more than last gen with the pro systems

THIS! This is the point I was originally trying to make. Over 50% of Xbox Series players have a console that just can't compare to either PS5 in capability, so it's going to be weird when people are talking about their experiences on a 3rd party game at this point. We don't know if they have an S or a X. And some games on the XSS don't even have a 60 fps option!

 

[jm89]

With what I'm hearing about the S they might have overestimated the demand for it. But it's hard to tell since they never release any numbers for it.

I think without microsoft releasing any numbers we can conclude they definatley overestimated demand for the series S.

1. Just looking at retailers all over the world the series s is the one that is most stocked since q4 last year maybe earlier
2. NPD leaked data shows terrible sales numbers during the holiday, in november they where outsold almost 2:1 by the ps5

They also discounted the S which is even more damning at the sales performance.

 

[Nothing1234]

A digital Series X was so obviously a decision to make tbh.

 

[Luigi Mario]

Like if we are determining how many people are playing current gen games at their highest resolutions and features in the console space.......the PS5 is doing 3-5 times the numbers of the XSX.

When the 2022 NPD numbers were leaked on Install Base most members were shocked by the growing sales gap between Xbox Series and PS5.

 

[Luigi Mario]

There is absolutely zero reasonable excuse you can give Microsoft for knowing about these issues ahead of time and doing nothing while they were closer to their competitor.

What's happening now is simply consequences of inaction by bad leadership.

It's almost April, nothing has changed, and if nothing is changing now it likely won't in May when Redfall releases either.

Sometimes it just as simple as having a bad team. In this case a logical corporation would clean house with new staff.

So realistically, what should be done about this situation going forward?

 

[TheGodfather07]

I think without microsoft releasing any numbers we can conclude they definatley overestimated demand for the series S.

1. Just looking at retailers all over the world the series s is the one that is most stocked since q4 last year maybe earlier
2. NPD leaked data shows terrible sales numbers during the holiday, in november they where outsold almost 2:1 by the ps5

They also discounted the S which is even more damning at the sales performance.

this ends the argument that price matters much. gamecube was cheap too remember? the product itself needs to be desirable too. PS5 can do big numbers on brand name alone because the brand is trusted throug years and years of delivering. xbox has just come off the back of an awful decade. which is still having a negative effect. its arrogant to think that microsoft can match sony with a cheap console. sony got where they are through hard WORK.

 

[ulantan]

Except it was high enough to be worth it, and Digital PS5 had a higher share as well back then.

X could have had a revision during the two years PS5 and digital PS5 had them.

There is absolutely zero reasonable excuse you can give Microsoft for knowing about these issues ahead of time and doing nothing while they were closer to their competitor.

What's happening now is simply consequences of inaction by bad leadership.

It's almost April, nothing has changed, and if nothing is changing now it likely won't in May when Redfall releases either.

Sometimes it just as simple as having a bad team. In this case a logical corporation would clean house with new staff.

Phil plays video games so it's OK. What was he supposed to do?

 

[Henry Panic]

Microsoft said it themselves that they released 2 models because they didn't expect manufacturing cost to go down like it usually does for consoles so they got the low price model & high price models out from the start.

They said they made two models to sell to two different demographics.

The internals of the DE and regular PS5 are the same bar not including the drive. A redesign for one is a redesign for both.

Except part of the changes involved the disc drive so they made two separate revisions for both consoles.

You're still not providing a valid excuse for Microsoft's bad decision making, your both instead trying to find semantics to give them an out

Two years they had to do a revision and they didn't. Phil instead write-off revisions saying they didn't need it knowing they had issues before he came out and made that statement. He instead didn't do anything but plan a third pillar with the Xbox streaming console which he cancelled.

So realistically, what should be done about this situation going forward?

There is no going forward. The only thing he can do is hope that they can fix the problem the long way sooner than later, but with may roughly a month from now I doubt it's getting fixed by then. It's too late now for a minor revision, may as well make a slim if they think about that.

 

[onQ123]

Hmmm......one wonders if the bolded is accurate and MS just misjudged the appeal of a weak next-gen system that was cheap.

I think things have actually been going better than expected for them up until the 2nd half of last year

The Suits probably thought Switch would be out of the way by now & that PS5 was going to be stuck in the middle of Series S & Series X but instead PS5 is slapping Series X around & Switch has Series S in a chokehold.

 

[Henry Panic]

Yup. Using the term generation can no longer be used to refer to specs, capabilities or limitations without clarification. It's basically just a time frame now. Even more than last gen with the pro systems

Generations were always based on time frame.

Phil plays video games so it's OK. What was he supposed to do?

I hear he wears a T shirt.

 

[Brucey]

Mixer, Skype, and Nokia crying in the corner.

Kin, Zune and Windows Phone looking thru the glass...

 

[Henry Panic]

Hmmm......one wonders if the bolded is accurate and MS just misjudged the appeal of a weak next-gen system that was cheap.

Of course it isn't accurate. Only on forums will you find people that believe Microsoft thought the S console was going to be more appealing than the console that's actually next generation.

The only reason people think that is because the S is widely available which was also true two years ago. But no one was saying it then.

What's the difference? Lower sales because the X console fell further and further behind, so people are looking for a scapegoat.

I repeat once again, the problem is as simple as poor leadership and bad decision making. People are acting like there's a mystery novel to solve when it's straight forward.

S console did not make team Xbox, who knew this problem with foresight, to do nothing for two years.

I feel like the further we get from 2021 people's memories start erasing and everyone forgets.

I mean we have people bringing up the Switch in this thread which was never a participant from Microsoft's point of view this gen. At least until the Activision deal anyway, occasionally.

People are talking about Xbox overestimating demand for the S console, despite the S consoles being in the same place as it was in the middle of 2021. Nothing has changed to make people believe suddenly Team Xbox is overestimating S demand. The only change has been there's been less X consoles, which means that when the S & X were more even, there wasn't an issue with the S console. But when X didn't pick up and S did, all S did was replace the X sales from before. But because of that NOW it's a bad idea and it has to go? NOW it should be replaced with a discless X? Where was this in the middle of 2021? Now you go all over gaming sites and people are pretending the S is different now lol.

There's no major growth for Xbox sales without more X consoles being available.

Just how it is. Xbox Team messed up. No other way of looking at it. They had two years to fix the problem and didn't have a plan despite knowing the problem ahead of time.

 

[Bo_Hazem]

Circana? Sounds like "Circuna" in Arabic meaning "Our Circus".

 

[FrankWza]

Generations were always based on time frame.

Right. And the terminology was also used to represent specs or graphics or features. Like "that looks last gen" this looks next gen". That can no longer be the case because the s exists.
Now it is only a period of time because you would need every reference to clarify which console one is using which was mckmas8808 point.

 

[Henry Panic]

Kin, Zune and Windows Phone looking thru the glass...

Kin, another project taken away from Allard.

Microsoft brought three of the biggest phone brands in the history of the industry and failed 3 times.

An impressive accomplishment. Not a positive one but impressive.

Right. And the terminology was also used to represent specs or graphics or features. Like "that looks last gen" this looks next gen". That can no longer be the case because the s exists.
Now it is only a period of time because you would need every reference to clarify which console one is using which was mckmas8808 point.

The S is in no different position than the Dreamcast.

Each gen was based on what new set of hardware that was built with newer tech releasing around the same time.

It was never primarily about the power of the hardware, it was about the time the new consoles would arrive with universal new tech regardless how weak or strong those consoles were compared to each other.

You're basically arguing that the TG16 isn't 4th gen with this viewpoint.

 

[FrankWza]

The S is in no different position than the Dreamcast.

There was a higher powered dreamcast that was equal to another console manufacturers only system that released at the same time?

Each gen was based on what new set of hardware that was built with newer tech releasing around the same time.

And the s is far below the lead consoles. For the first time ever. There's no precedent for this.
Last gen you could say ps4 vs xb1 until the pro systems released. But there are far more s owners percentage - wise than pro owners.

It was never primarily about the power of the hardware, it was about the time the new consoles would arrive with universal new tech regardless how weak or strong those consoles were compared to each other.

And you could easily reference that by manufacturers. Now it's necessary to say that you are playing on s. PS5 owners don't need to state digital or disc when making any claims or statement.

 

[Crayon]

I've wondered if the series s works unintentionally as an upsell to the digital ps5.

 

[Luigi Mario]

This is the point I was originally trying to make. Over 50% of Xbox Series players have a console that just can't compare to either PS5 in capability, so it's going to be weird when people are talking about their experiences on a 3rd party game at this point. We don't know if they have an S or a X. And some games on the XSS don't even have a 60 fps option!

I wouldn't be surprised if the Series S is comfortably ahead of the Series X by this point.

 

[xiskza]

I'm sure Xbox will use these to get the deal approved in the US too. They're playing the long game, thinking about the PS7 generation

 

[Henry Panic]

And you could easily reference that by manufacturers. Now it's necessary to say that you are playing on s. PS5 owners don't need to state digital or disc when making any claims or statement.

Yes they do. You can't use discs on a digital PS5. It's only not been in conversation recently because Sony has barely been shipping or marketing digitals again until recent.

And the s is far below the lead consoles.

Ok, that has nothing to do with the false belief that Xbox thought S would be appealing and the spearhead for sales, despite being in the same place it was in 2021, when barely anyone made the same commentary.

People are blaming the S for a completely unrelated problem it has nothing to do with.

 

[Brucey]

Yes they do. You can't use discs on a digital PS5. It's only not been in conversation recently because Sony has barely been shipping or marketing digitals again until recent.

Ultimately both versions play the game with the exact same performance. One has a disc drive, the other doesn't.

Frankly I think MS should have gone all in with just Xbx and maybe Xbx digital, at $500 and $400. Clearly there's demand by the hard core enthusiast for the highest performing models - see PS5 with over 30 million sales at $400-$500 (and with scalpers many paid far more). Even for xb you would think there's at least 20 million that would buy the full 12tf power box. Then, once the hardcore have bought in, release the S model to hit the casuals for gamepass value offering.

Problem is MS went for high end and low end casual simultaneously. Prob seemed like a solid plan on paper by some MBA bean counter.

 

[Nothing1234]

Frankly I think MS should have gone all in with just Xbx and maybe Xbx digital, at $500 and $400. Clearly there's demand by the hard core enthusiast for the highest performing models - see PS5 with over 30 million sales at $400-$500 (and with scalpers many paid far more). Even for xb you would think there's at least 20 million that would buy the full 12tf power box. Then, once the hardcore have bought in, release the S model to hit the casuals for gamepass value offering.

Problem is MS went for high end and low end casual simultaneously. Prob seemed like a solid plan on paper by some MBA bean counter.

The Series S makes sense in a world without PS5 Digital I think.

 

[Henry Panic]

Frankly I think MS should have gone all in with just Xbx and maybe Xbx digital,

XbX digital has never made sense. The S gas no relation to Team Xboxs bad decision making with the X. An X digital would only make the current situation worse.

There is no reason for anyone to believe S is in a different position now than in 2021 when everyone was saying it was a good move.

People are fooling themselves into thinking the S is Xboxs problem with no real reason or evidence.

The above post makes even less sense comparing the S to the PS5 digital.

When the reality is it's as simple as poor leadership. Team Xbox made bad choices, so now we see the results. Two years of doing nothing led to these issues.

 

[Coulomb_Barrier]

The problem with the Series X no stock hypothesis as reason for the terrible sales figures is that it's conceivable that Xbox Series would sell even less if you replace all those Series S units on store shelves with Series X.

It seems we are doing the usual of conflating hardcore appeal to what the mainstream want. A lot of forum users saying 'everyone would prefer the Series X over the S' but that may not be what the casual market desires.

Series X at its current price is also in direct competition to the PS5 disc model, which is the most sought after model. Put the X and the PS5 head to head and we know which is by far the more sought after piece of tech right now with buyers walking into shops.

So the possibility is the S has saved Xbox from losing even more marketshare the last 3-4 months (and we know how it helped massively on this front at the start of the gen). So as much as I hate the thing, it might be MS' best hope until they properly sought out their library in 2024 and beyond.

 

[TheGodfather07]

The problem with the Series X no stock hypothesis as reason for the terrible sales figures is that it's conceivable that Xbox Series would sell even less if you replace all those Series S units on store shelves with Series X.

It seems we are doing the usual of conflating hardcore appeal to what the mainstream want. A lot of forum users saying 'everyone would prefer the Series X over the S' but that may not be what the casual market desires.

Series X at its current price is also in direct competition to the PS5 disc model, which is the most sought after model. Put the X and the PS5 head to head and we know which is by far the more sought after piece of tech right now with buyers walking into shops.

So the possibility is the S has saved Xbox from losing even more marketshare the last 3-4 months (and we know how it helped massively on this front at the start of the gen). So as much as I hate the thing, it might be MS' best hope until they properly sought out their library in 2024 and beyond.

im not sure what people are expecting from xbox? for the last decade, its been a brand that sells around 7m-8m a year. if your expecting big numbers from xbox, your going to be disappointed. how can you expect xbox to even be close to the PS5 when they sony are projecting to sell atleast 23m consoles next fiscal year? the gap will remain big all year.

 

[Heisenberg007]

im not sure what people are expecting from xbox? for the last decade, its been a brand that sells around 7m-8m a year. if your expecting big numbers from xbox, your going to be disappointed. how can you expect xbox to even be close to the PS5 when they are projecting to sell atleast 23m consoles next fiscal year? the gap will remain big all year.

True, but there was this expectation before Nov. 2020 that Xbox Series X will close the gap as compared to last gen because (1) Series X was the "most powerful console", (2) Game Pass, (3) Bethesda acquisition announced a day before Series X|S pre-orders opened, (4) acquiring 13 studios before that, etc.

And to be honest, after spending so much money, they should have sold more. If they are still selling roughly the same amount as Xbox One (whose launch was a monumental failure and meme), there's a lot of issues.