Xbox Series X/S have "taken share globally" in console market for past two quarters
2022 begins with Xbox's best non-holiday quarter ever.
Microsoft says it is gaining console market share globally thanks to the success of Xbox Series X/S.
The comments came from Microsoft boss Satya Nadella, speaking during the company's third quarter results call.
Nadella did not say which company it has specifically gained market share from, though quarterly results from US numbers firm NPD this week pointed to Xbox availability being key, compared to the supply-constrained PlayStation.
Indeed, Nadella reiterated what we knew from NPD already - that (in terms of revenue at least) Xbox Series X/S had been the best-selling console in the US over the past quarter. This extended elsewhere too, he continued:
"With our Xbox Series X and S consoles, we have taken share globally for two quarters in a row and we are the market leader this quarter among the next-gen consoles in the United States, Canada, UK, and Western Europe," Nadella said.
There was no new stat for Xbox Game Pass subscriber numbers (pegged at 25 million in January), though Nadella noted more than 10 million people had now streamed games using Xbox Cloud Gaming.
Microsoft reported revenues from the last quarter for its gaming division were up six percent year-on-year. Gaming analyst Daniel Ahmad noted this equated to the "best non-holiday quarter for Xbox" ever.
Hardware sales were up 14 percent year-on-year - a good sign that Xbox consoles are easier to get a hold of in 2022 than last year.