A recent study from web traffic analytics firm Statcounter reveals that the PlayStation appears to be the game system of choice for South African gamers over the Xbox. Although the distributors of the two consoles have opted not to disclose their precise market share, these statistics tell a lot about the console market in the country.
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Statcounter Reports Wide Difference Between Xbox and PlayStation
As reported by MyBroadband, statistics from Statcounter reveal that PlayStation has a market share of 94.54% for console operating systems in South Africa during the past 12 months, while Xbox has a market share of 5.56% as of July. This comes as a piece of surprising news for the rest of the world as popular market reports say that Xbox is ahead of PlayStation in terms of rising market trends.
The same reporter compares Statcounter's market share statistics to their console users' poll. The said survey from MyBroadband has found out that 53% of console gamers from South Africa prefer PlayStation 5, while 37% chose Microsoft's Xbox Series X. Meanwhile, only 5% of the poll respondents said that they prefer the cheaper Xbox Series S. This comparison even strengthens the claim that South Africa has a console market share different from the rest of the world.
Xbox Gains Ground Over PlayStation: Projected Global Market Share
To provide an overview of the latest global console industry market share, here is a report from wccftech.com. The report says that Microsoft's Xbox platform is expected to gain ground over Sony's PlayStation and the Nintendo console system over the next four years, according to a forecast on the video game console market published in March by gaming market research company DFC Intelligence. According to DFC Intelligence, surveys show PS5 to be still the preferred console, but that might change as Microsoft's Xbox library grows thanks to the many acquired game studios.
Meanwhile, US statistics show a similar pattern. With a market share of roughly 53%, Microsoft's Xbox was the most widely used console operating system in the United States in 2021. Xbox, the most popular console brand in America, did well in the home market, but PlayStation came in second place and captured about 47% of the market.
According to the study stated above, Sony's PlayStation 5 is losing its momentum in the console market because of continuing high demand along with a dwindling supply that will continue to be very limited through the fiscal year 2023. This event was well reflected when Sony adjusted its full-year forecast down to 11.5 million units.
Going back to South Africa, MyBroadband contacted representatives of the said gaming console company in the country. According to an executive from Gamefinity, albeit the Statcounter numbers prefer PlayStation more, it is still considered to be inaccurate. The chief executive said that it is very unlikely that the difference between the two console companies to be that wide.
Meanwhile, an Xbox sales manager tells MyBroadband that the statistics reported did not correctly reflect the current generation of consoles. The representative from Xbox emphasized that Xbox does not have any connection with Statcounter and that the data published is not official Xbox data.
PlayStation managed a monopoly on gaming console supply in the region for several years before Xbox entered the South African market early this decade. When Microsoft first introduced Xbox, fans waited months before it reached the South African market.
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