Many are hoping that the Xbox One X will help reverse Microsoft’s fortunes in the console market, by helping it make up lost ground in hardware sales against rivals PS4 and Nintendo Switch. This is incredibly unlikely because of what the Xbox One X is- a $500 machine. And while there is definitely a sizeable market for a high end console offering the best tech, it is dwarfed by the market willing to buy cheaper, mass market devices that the PS4 and Switch are.
That doesn’t mean it can’t be a success, however- and that’s exactly what Lewis Ward, IDC Research Director for Gaming and VR/AR, has said to GamesTM (#191) in an interview with them. “No, the XB1X won’t be enough for Microsoft to catch up,” he said. “It should give PlayStation 4 Pro a run for its money in 2018 in the United States and the United Kingdom, however. I’m projecting about four million XB1X consoles shipped from Q4 2017 through the end of 2018, and about five million PlayStation 4 Pro consoles shipped in the same timeframe.”
Note that the PS4 Pro sales are not predicted as an LTD number- rather, he is predicting how much the PS4 Pro will sell in the same period as the Xbox one X launch through to the end of 2018. 5 million PS4 Pros sold versus 4 million Xbox One Xs sold implies a far tighter race than PS4 vs Xbox One has been so far. It should be interesting to see how things play out.
[via WCCFTech]