Sony’s flagship console, the PlayStation 5, continues to gain significant ground around the globe, most especially in the European Union, at the expense of the Microsoft Xbox. As a matter of fact, the PS5 is outselling its rival by over four times in the region and is comfortably in first place in the console market.
Recent sales numbers indicate the PS5 has increased in sales by over 143% in the last year while The Xbox Series X and S had a massive 52% drop in sales during the same period. Experts believe that the recent availability of the Sony console has a lot to do with the jump in numbers but one interesting Reddit post points to a different cause for Microsoft’s poor sales performance in the region.
According to a thread by BigMinnie on the Xbox Series X subreddit, the real reason why the Microsoft console is doing poorly in Europe is because of a lack of official support for a majority of countries in the region. The user shared that 55% of European countries and 40% of the European Union lack official support from Xbox.
They diligently compiled a list of European countries and crosschecked it with the Xbox Supported Countries/Regions list. A total of 27 out of 49 countries are on the list provided by BigMinnie that do not have official support. The user states that “owning an Xbox in one of this country is hell” and most players “can’t buy games from Xbox store.” Digital codes reportedly do not reliably work in these countries, making it hard to own games on the platform. It doesn’t help that Microsoft leans strongly towards digital releases over physical discs.
The lack of official support means Xbox ads are non-existent in these countries. It would also be very hard to find any local Xbox-related event or sponsorship. Local gaming outlets also find it near-impossible to get early review copies of upcoming games.
The user highlights that Sony is doing the exact opposite and perhaps capitalizing on the absence of its rival in the EU. BigMinnie shared that PlayStation has ads running on billboards, radio, and TV in these countries. Sony is also present in local events and gaming outlets get early review copies of upcoming titles.
The lack of official support for a majority of European countries is puzzling, especially the lack of official support in countries outside of its most populated nations. The company may be missing out on a lot by exclusively focusing its efforts on just the bigger markets like the UK, France, Germany, Spain, and Italy to name a few. Microsoft seemingly has set its sights on the big fish while ignoring the little ones that are easier to catch.
If Microsoft does plan to go head-to-head with Sony and Nintendo, it needs to do a better job at marketing its console and make its presence felt everywhere. The company should at least start with officially supporting consoles in every possible country. Microsoft doesn’t need to look far as Windows is officially supported in most countries around the world. If the company can do it for its operating system, then it certainly can implement it for the Xbox.
