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PS5 vs Xbox Series X|S Sales Comparison - August 2021

PS5 vs Xbox Series X|S Sales Comparison - August 2021 - Sales

by William D'Angelo , posted on 01 October 2021 / 45,459 Views

The VGChartz sales comparison series of articles are updated monthly and each one focuses on a different sales comparison using our estimated video game hardware figures. The charts include comparisons between the PlayStation 5, Xbox Series X|S, and Nintendo Switch, as well as with older platforms. There are articles based on our worldwide estimates, as well as the US, Europe, and Japan.

This monthly series compares the aligned worldwide sales of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S.

The PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S both launched in November 2020. The PlayStation 5 launched November 12, 2020 in North America, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, South Korea, and Singapore, and the rest of the world on November 19, 2020. The Xbox Series X|S launched worldwide on November 10, 2020.

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PS5 vs Xbox Series X|S Sales Comparison - August 2021PS5 vs Xbox Series X|S Sales Comparison - August 2021

PS5 vs Xbox Series X|S Sales Comparison - August 2021

PS5 Vs. XSX|S Worldwide:

Gap change in latest month: 296,091 - PS5

Total Lead: 4,321,687 - PS5

PlayStation 5 Total Sales: 11,252,518

Xbox Series X|S Total Sales: 6,930,831

August 2021 is the 10th month the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X|S has been available for. In the latest month, the gap grew in favor of the PlayStation 5 when compared to the aligned launch of the Xbox Series X|S by 296,091 units. The PlayStation 5 is currently ahead by 4.32 million units.

The PlayStation 5 has sold 11.25 million units in six months, while the Xbox Series X|S sold 6.03 million units.

The PlayStation 5 is currently 0.80 million units ahead of the PlayStation 4 when you align launches and the Xbox Series X|S is ahead of the Xbox One by 1.68 million units.


A life-long and avid gamer, William D'Angelo was first introduced to VGChartz in 2007. After years of supporting the site, he was brought on in 2010 as a junior analyst, working his way up to lead analyst in 2012. He has expanded his involvement in the gaming community by producing content on his own YouTube channel and Twitch channel dedicated to gaming Let's Plays and tutorials. You can contact the author at wdangelo@vgchartz.com or on Twitter @TrunksWD.


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10 Comments
Kristof81 (on 13 September 2021)

The ratio seems to be smaller (1,6:1), compared to PS4 vs XB1 in the same period of time (2:1)

  • +4
AJNShelton Kristof81 (on 14 September 2021)

Yeah but the gap widens

  • +2
scrapking AJNShelton (on 18 September 2021)

Yeah, but neither are broadly available. So the real test is what happens when they both are. It will likely be interesting.

  • 0
AJNShelton scrapking (on 19 September 2021)

The Series S is available pretty much everywhere except the US

  • 0
scrapking AJNShelton (on 19 September 2021)

Yeah, it does appear to be the U.S. and Canada where it's hardest to come by. In Canada too, it sells out pretty much as soon as it's restocked.

  • 0
scrapking (on 12 September 2021)

I understand why Sony had an initial lead, as they didn't wait for the full RDNA2 implementation to be ready, and lived with a subset of it so that they could enter volume production sooner. I wonder what's accounting for them continuing to out-produce Microsoft?

  • -10
TheWalrusCaesar scrapking (on 12 September 2021)

I think Xbox is using a lot of their chips for XCloud pcs and consoles, at least I heard that somewhere, otherwise idk

  • 0
scrapking TheWalrusCaesar (on 12 September 2021)

Oh, that's an interesting point, actually! Every time you stream off of Xcloud, it's running off of actual Xbox Series-based hardware. As they scale up Xbox Cloud Gaming, that would definitely get in the way of them shipping new units to retail. A problem Sony doesn't have, as their streaming options are entirely last-gen at this point.
Good one, TWC!

  • -1
vherostar TheWalrusCaesar (on 14 September 2021)

First they only upgraded to xbox series X in recent months not at launch and the gap has only widened recently.. Second is the fact they are releasing as many as sells. The Series S is in stock everywhere apart from the US now and has been for months showing launch demand has died down (proof https://smile.amazon.co.uk/Xbox-RRS-00007-Series-S/dp/B08GD9MNZB). MS is doing what Nintendo always do and releasing as much as they think will sell the console out. If they released as much as PS5 right now there would also be series X in stock and readily available. Creating false demand is a great sales tactic and MS know how to sell like the best of them.

  • 0
scrapking vherostar (on 15 September 2021)

There are millions of people with Game Pass Ultimate, so Microsoft may still be in the process of converting their servers from Xbox One to Xbox Series-grade hardware. And they're presumably also constantly scaling up that service as Game Pass Ultimate subscriptions grow and/or more subscribers start using the cloud-based services. So I suspect they're directing Series-grade hardware to the Xcloud services on an on-going basis.

And the Series S is also in tight supply in Canada, as well as the U.S., still.

Since you make money selling software and accessories, having sufficient demand that Series X is getting scalped doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Creating false demand can be a good sales tactic, and I readily acknowledge that's a thing that happens in business sometimes. But it can be a lost opportunity to grab customers who are tired of waiting for a PS5, so I'm skeptical that MS would want to keep unsatisfied demand this high.

  • 0