Sony dominates UK market share while Xbox numbers plummet
Summary
– PS5 secured a massive 62 percent of all console sales in the UK
– Nintendo Switch 2 held its ground while Xbox settled for a distant third place
– Aggressive pricing helped the PS5 Pro achieve its best week since launching
The numbers for Black Friday week in the UK are finally in, and it was a complete squash match for Sony. Data supplied by NielsenIQ and GSD indicates that PlayStation utterly dominated the competition during the crucial holiday shopping window. The PS5 platform hoovered up a staggering 62 percent of total console sales to establish undeniable dominance.
While Sony took the main event spot, Nintendo put up a decent fight in the mid-card. The Nintendo Switch 2 managed to capture a respectable 23% share of the hardware market. The news was far grimier for Microsoft, as the Xbox Series X and S combined only accounted for a dismal 10 percent of the total sales pie.
The difference in performance is directly tied to the pricing strategy employed by the major players. Xbox consoles only saw typical discounts of around 8 percent for the event. Meanwhile, Sony became aggressive by slashing prices on PS5 Slim models by anywhere from 21 to 34 percent, depending on the version. This strategy also helped the high-end PS5 Pro enjoy its strongest sales week outside of its initial launch window.
It was not good news across the entire board. Overall accessory sales declined significantly, down 17 percent compared to the same period last year. Controller sales declined by 27 percent, and headset sales dropped by 28 percent. Although Meta Quest 3 and PSVR2 experienced their best weeks of the year individually, the overall VR headset market still declined by 7 percent.
