PS5 vs Xbox Series X: which actually won this console generation?

[Brittle Olivia]

By pure sales numbers this generation isn't close at all, with the PS5 having sold roughly 93 million units worldwide compared to around 35 million for the Xbox Series X and S combined, giving Sony something like a 73 percent market share. Microsoft has responded by pivoting hard away from exclusive hardware sales entirely, bringing former Xbox exclusive titles to PlayStation and leaning heavily into Game Pass subscriptions instead of pure console sales as their actual growth metric. Curious whether people think Sony genuinely won this generation outright or whether Microsoft's strategic pivot means the actual competition is happening on a completely different metric now

The case for Sony winning is straightforward given the sales gap and continued strong exclusive lineup specifically. The case for Microsoft actually succeeding on its own terms points to Game Pass subscriber growth and the fact that former exclusives now reaching a much wider audience across platforms arguably matters more for the company's actual business than raw console hardware sales specifically. Feels like two genuinely different definitions of winning being applied here

What's your actual take on who won, and by what specific measure. Genuinely curious how people weigh raw hardware sales against Microsoft's changed strategic approach

[Federation66]

Sales numbers settle this pretty definitively in Sony's favor honestly, and a nearly sixty million unit gap isn't something a changed strategy narrative can really spin away as some kind of secret Microsoft win. Hardware sales are still the most direct measure of who actually won a console generation. Microsoft's pivot feels more like damage control than a genuine alternative victory