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The new game consoles released by Sony Corp. and Microsoft Corp. fell short of their predecessors in terms of sales during their first week in Japan, suggesting that persistent supply bottlenecks will hamper the debut of two of the devices. most anticipated this holiday season.
Sony sold 118,085 PlayStation 5 (PS5) consoles from their debut on November 12 to November 15, about a third of the volume seen during the PlayStation4 (PS4) launch weekend, Famitsu estimated. Microsoft logged 20,534 units of its Xbox Series X and S during the six days since its inception on Nov. 10, also down from the 23,562 that the Xbox One achieved during its early days, the research house said.
Sony fell as much as 1.6% in Tokyo operations on Thursday and Microsoft fell about the same amount in New York on Wednesday. Both were aligned with broader markets.
The estimates provide a first look at sales for the new Xbox and PlayStation consoles, two devices that should dominate the wish lists this Christmas. Japan was one of the first markets globally to obtain them and is seen as a key battleground between two companies, vying to establish leadership in next-generation games and drive long-term growth.
“The supply shortage in the US, where sales are on a first-come, first-served basis, is similar to Japan,” wrote Citi Research analysts Kota Ezawa and Yui Shoji. “This appears to point to low supply amounts as well as strong post-launch demand.”
Factory and logistics disruptions during the COVID-19 pandemic have hurt manufacturers’ ability to keep up.
The result is likely to reflect more available supply than demand for the consoles, as both companies saw their machines sold out on day one, said Serkan Toto, an industry consultant in Tokyo.
Microsoft launched its two new consoles to 37 countries simultaneously, a huge jump from 13 markets for the previous generation of Xbox One. The Redmond, Washington-based company has called the duo’s launch the most successful Xbox debut ever. history, but that feat seems to have come at the cost of a meager supply.
Sony is also dealing with inadequate supply as it tries to introduce its new consoles in 65 countries, doubling the 32 that the company covered with the PS4.
Chief Financial Officer Hiroki Totoki told investors in October that supply chain bottlenecks had hampered the tech giant’s efforts to meet demand and that constraints may persist until March next year. In Japan, the company was forced to implement a lottery system to manage PS5 pre-orders.
Microsoft and Sony say they are working hard to increase the supply of their new machines.
But retailers in Japan say it is unclear when they will be able to reliably stock the products in demand. PS5 units on the Mercari resale market have reached prices of over ¥ 100,000 from their usual ¥ 40,000 to ¥ 50,000.
Not all users are in a rush to get the new consoles out of the box, as most new games are still playable on the PS4 and Xbox One consoles coming out. Still, Hideki Yasuda, an analyst at the Ace Research Institute, said manufacturers should increase supply as soon as possible because a loss of initial momentum could hurt sales for life.
“The sales momentum of the first two weeks is crucial in shaping consumer sentiment about a product, and that’s why it’s important to prepare a sufficient quantity at launch,” he said.
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