The console is selling great. Don't get where you are getting this idea.
Both have different audience and targets.
I'm saying that for what the Series S was targeted to do, the type of people it was primarily designed to pull in, it isn't quite pulling its weight.
There's enough circumstantial evidence to provide this conclusion.
The Xbox Series consoles are getting further ahead of the XBO/360 while the PS5 is starting to move further behind the PS3 and are also not shipping what they are expecting.
Did you even read the Sony fiscal reports? They're planning for 18 million for FY 2022, had a 400% increase in shipped stock to NA for the holiday season, and have been beating Series in the US for the past few months even with supposed lower-than-expected supply (at least as you put it).
I don't know why me speculating Series are at a peak 14.5 million sold-through at this current date is so controversial. That is still ahead of XBO & 360, so what's the problem? It's a very realistic number given the data from Ampere, Statista, and Microsoft themselves. Sure it is not the 25 million Sony just stated for PS5, but it's still tracking ahead of 360 & XBO.
As for PS5, I don't know where you're getting the perception it's moving further behind PS3 and even if that were true, that obviously will not stay the case when Sony themselves project the sales curve to surpass the PS4's very soon, and we all know the PS4 both outsold PS3 and had a healthier sales curve.
IN 3 of the top markets which are also Xboxes strongest, the PS5 is less than 1 million units ahead, in the US by a few hundred thousand units.
We actually don't know how true this is and if it were true, then MS has an even bigger problem in ROTW than I would have thought. In fact, it would almost be to the point where they have lost marketshare in many of the ROTW markets compared to even the XBO generation.
And yes, I'm going with the (max) 14.5 million sold-through number as the basis of that thought.
The notion that XBS is in trouble it may be a blow out, or the Series S isn't selling is simply roflcopter.
Again, look at the likely sales gap. 25 million vs 14.5 million, or a 1.72:1 sales ratio. General perception of ecosystem library value gaining momentum for PS5 (GOW Ragnarok, PSVR2, Forspoken, FF XVI, lead platform for MP games like SF VI, Tekken 8, RE4 Remake, other exclusives like SH2 Remake, Spiderman 2 etc.) vs possible stagnation for Series (Forza is "basically" just more Forza, Starfield is an unknown and could end up mid, RedFall could end up good but not something super-popular, no idea if Hellblade II or Avowed will launch next year, no VR support planned, etc.).
That's the way I see it, anyway. I mean honestly, if you ask someone in the mainstream which of those lineups jumps out to them more, they're very likely going to go with the PS5's. So whatever Microsoft puts out there is going to have to be very special, and marketed big time.
Xbox has recovered and maintained a close competitive edge were most consoles are currently selling with supply issues mostly off the S, and this year 2022 they basically didn't have a single game and they are still selling further from the 360/XBO while PS5 is falling more and more behind the PS4 selling strongly. Even in places were the PS5 wins a month like UK or Eastern Europe PS5 is down a % from the PS4 and the XBS is up a % compared to XBO/360.
You've got wires mixed up big time here. Again, yes Series is doing well this gen, especially for Xbox standards, and it's trending ahead of 360 & XBO, but it's not by nearly as much as yourself or some others seem to think. Just take the Statista data, the Ampere data, Microsoft's own data, extrapolate some numbers, add some (realistic) extra sales on top and you have a good range of possible Series sales and they're good but are 10.5 million by PS5 for sold-through. That's the likely reality, unless Microsoft themselves have different numbers and want to share them, but we know they don't talk Series numbers.
You're trying to make it sound like PS5 is falling behind PS4 as if it's a demand issue, when that is clearly not the case. When PS5 started tracking behind PS4, that was down to very constrained supply. Supply which has improved considerably in the past few months, and we see the results of that with them outselling even the Switch in Japan this past week, outselling Series in NA for the past two months, outselling them in the UK. Whether they outsold Xbox by a lot or a little doesn't really matter, because if the idea is that PS5 supply is still abysmal...what does that say about Xbox's supply?
There's a reason Sony's own internal projections have PS5 surpassing PS4 time-aligned by Spring 2023; supply has been getting better and the demand is still there, in fact increasing with releases like GOW Ragnarok and the upcoming PSVR2. I think you also underestimate just how well PS4 did in those markets where PS5 won for a given month or week and tracked behind, and overestimate how well 360 and XBO did in markets in the same region where Series won ahead of them.
If anything Xbox Series would be ahead or even if they had some games to light the candle this year, and not just any games but well-received or acclaimed games that aren't bad bets like several of their third-party console exclusives last gen, or their Quantum Breaks and Screamrides for FP games.
I strongly doubt that. You don't just suddenly unlock momentum; it is earned over persistent, consistent efforts over a gradual period of time. At the end of the day you are speaking of hypothetical games that may or may not have done much for the system sales-wise, but last Fall they had both FH5 and Halo Infinite itself and those didn't help push it to even sales with PS5, let alone ahead.
By this logic then, are FH5 and Halo Infinite bad bets? Does a bad bet mean a bad game? FH5's a great game...Halo Infinite is, well, dead. The lack of easy predictability with MS 1P and AAA exclusives in terms of quality (or the cache they can have with the wider audience) is a whole other topic of discussion, however.
If Microsoft actually has good promos this holiday and releases the games they promise to with no more delays in early 2023 things will change. The fact both XBS and PS5 are selling out anywhere two years in is due to mostly next gen hype and promises but that won't last forever (PS5 software sales in japan are abysmal the sales will crater if they can't get games to sell there too) but at least the Xbox has managed to hold off with services, but outside a handful of good games, Halo Infinite disappointment, and delays Xbox needs to pick up the pace before even services like Gamepass alone won't be able to drive hype anymore.
You bring up PS5 software sales in Japan being abysmal as some indication the platform is failing, but at least it's actually had games chart in Famitsu Top 30. Xbox Series has not had a single game break the Top 30 in that region, so any arguments WRT to supposed "real" PS5 performance in Japan (like the systems are just being scalped out the country), would apply even more so to Series X and S, because software sales there are even worst. Although, it's true that many Japanese retailers don't carry physical Xbox copies to sell, so most sales would be digital in that region. Yet we ALSO know digital trends very strongly for PlayStation these days as well, so it's either the Famitsu Top 30 either includes digital sales (in which case, if PS5 is doing poor with software sales, Series software sales would truly be near-non existent), or only tracks physical (in which case, if the assumption is that Series software is actually selling well in Japan through the storefront, why would that logic NOT apply to PS5?).
We know GamePass would not be the contributing factor there, because in terms of 3P AAA releases and even quite a few AA and indie releases, they don't hit GamePass Day 1 and that goes for all regions. If the argument is that low software sales for Series in Japan is not a bad thing because of GamePass, then by default that's saying the gamers there are buying the system for a large backlog of older games through the service...which they can do on PS5 anyway with PS+/Extra/Premium(Deluxe), not to mention PS Catalogue. And let's suppose that PS+ would not be as enticing in that respect because maybe Japanese gamers have already played those games, so GamePass would be a good backlog for MS 1P content on the cheap for them. Then, why does that appeal not transfer over to stylistically analogous games belonging to the brand like Deathloop, in getting more sales than they have seen (and that's with the fact the game is now available on Xbox).
Speaking of Deathloop, and sticking with this Japan example (but it can be applicable to global market), if the game being on GamePass hasn't garnered it a notable increase in sales, doesn't that work against the long-held idea that GamePass boosts software sales in general? I mean we've had enough examples where that isn't the case, even for indie games, but I'm sure that idea is going to pop up again in the near future as if it is a universal truth.
Needless to say, there's a lot to unpack with that part of your statement which is just wrong, like the idea Series is selling out everywhere (when we know the S is not as in-demand as the X, that they have had to do aggressive promotional pricing discounts and free game giveaways for the S even here in America in the middle of summer, that part of the $100 - $200 loss per Xbox is (IMO) probably due to unsold Series S units sitting around, etc), or that PS5 is only selling off of next-gen hype (it's selling off of its own hype; if "next-gen hype" were a thing then it would be universal meaning Series S would also be selling out which it clearly isn't), but I just needed to focus on the Japan example because it's always a go-to but people don't seem to understand the implications of what they want to get across when using it as a way to try implying PS5 is doing poorly there.
What a bunch of crap.
PS5 Digital revision for U$349,90 vs Xbox Series S for U$349,90?
Series S will be sold for U$249,90 this Black Friday and Microsoft will raise it's price to U$349,90 next year?
Phil Spencer suggested in a recent interview that they could consider increasing prices in early 2023. Obviously, they wouldn't do that in the holiday season, but rather wait until the busy shopping period has concluded.
That suggestion of a price increase next year is on the record, BTW.