Xbox's Problems Look Big, Beaten By Wildcard Console in Sales Share

Statistics are out for which video game consoles sold best during Black Friday, and the results may surprise you.

It’s a pretty known fact by now that PlayStation has been ahead of Xbox in terms of market share for a while now, given that PS5's have shifted around 50 million more units than current-gen Xbox consoles.

But what’s particularly interesting is seeing where each of the current-gen consoles have landed during this year's Black Friday sales.

The numbers, which come from Circana’s Mat Piscatella, show that PS5 leads with 47% of total Black Friday week hardware unit sales in the United States.

Meanwhile, Nintendo Switch 2 ranked at 2nd with 24% and Xbox Series X/S had around 15%, ending in fourth place.

Xbox Beaten By Nex Playground For Black Friday Sales

What’s particularly surprising about this is that Xbox sales were beaten by the Nex Playground, a console you probably haven’t heard of but one that seems to be selling quite well as evident by these numbers.

Originally released in 2023, the Nex Playground is a home console designed for children and families with a plug-and-play appeal.

The platform has a built-in camera and supports a variety of minigames for players to participate in, using motion tracking to complete challenges. Think of it as a modern equivalent to PlayStation’s EyeToy, or the Xbox Kinect.

Nex Team

Although you may not have heard of the Nex Playground, its appeal seems pretty obvious. These things are cheap, easy to set up, and are fun for a whole family to play together. Really, it’s a perfect choice to pick up on a Black Friday sale.

Here in the United Kingdom, the situation wasn’t much better for Xbox.

As The Game Business reports, PS5 led the market with a whopping 62% share of sales, with Nintendo Switch 2 at 23%. Xbox came in third place at 10%.

It’s important to note that Nex Playground isn’t available in the United Kingdom, hence why it isn’t included in this data.

One reason that may account for Xbox’s low sales lately is the fact that Microsoft decided not to run any sales on the console this Black Friday. Once you add in other recent controversies, such as the company investing further in AI, landing itself on the BDS Boycott list, and raising prices of Game Pass, it’s easy to see why many may have moved away from the platform.