The Xbox Series X is outselling the PlayStation 5 in South Africa, but the latter remains the most in-demand of the next-generation consoles.
This is according to BT Games and Raru, two of the major retailers in the country which have sold both consoles since their launches in November 2020.
The companies told MyBroadband they had sold more Xbox Series X units than PlayStation 5 consoles over the last few months.
While BT Games did not disclose exactly how many more Series X units it had sold, Raru told MyBroadband that it had sold twice as many of Microsoft’s console than Sony’s.
However, both retailers said that based on pre-order sales and wishlists, the PlayStation 5 was more in-demand than the Series X.
“It would be fair to say any new PS5 console allocations will be snapped up pretty quickly as soon as they become available again,” Raru said.
The reason it had not sold as well as the Series X, was because the retailers had received less stock of Sony’s console.
Like other retailers, Raru’s PlayStation 5 stock was allocated in pre-order waves.
“On the PS5 console front we received three different allocation sizes last year. A smallish one for launch, then a much bigger one for the second drop late in December, and a tiny supplemental drop just before the end of year as well.
Raru said it had a “much bigger allocation” of the Xbox Series X and S console available when their pre-orders went live last year.
“Since then though the Xbox Series X console stock has all been sold out for the past month or two. There is however some limited stock available again on the Xbox Series S console.”
New stock incoming
Xbox distributor in South Africa Prima Interactive told MyBroadband that it has had good supply to the trade, with new stock coming in every month since launch.
Raru said it was expecting to receive stock of the Xbox Series X during this week, but added that these products had already been sold.
It said its Xbox supplier expects the next batch of Xbox Series X consoles will be arriving in South Africa in April.
Official PlayStation distributor in South Africa Gamefinity told MyBroadband that component shortages on both the PS4 and PS5 meant that supply constraints would last well into the second half of the calendar year.
“Demand has been unprecedented, far exceeding those of the previous generations. Limited, if any stock, has as yet made it onto retailer shelves and unlikely to do so in the coming months as retailers service lists of customers who have expressed interest,” Gamefinity stated.
However, it added that more stock of the PlayStation 5 would be available in South Africa from March. It stated that both the standard and digital consoles will be on offer.
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Source: mybroadband
