Next-Generation Consoles PS5 Starts in Pole Position
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The 20,000 Foot View: The winter holiday season has always been important for next-generation console launches, but this one is different. Negative effects of the current recession will intensify, engagement will be less predictable and device-agnostic games subscription competition is set to heat up. The 2020 winter holiday season will help shape momentum for Xbox and PlayStation, though for different reasons. Both are now increasingly competing with the rest of the attention economy rather than each other. Consumer intent-to-buy currently points in favour of PlayStation, but there are enough interested, yet undecided, consumers to potentially put Xbox in the lead. The undecided will be of utmost focus for both console companies over the coming months.
Key Insights
- The winter season outlook for games consoles far more positive now than was in April, as consoles their 2020 launch deadlines while majors face delays and market-entry
- Due to with tech majors’ games initiatives government support during 2020, the holiday season is an opportunity console companies to win over gamers, without significantly increased competitive
- Console sales unlikely to be impacted by income disruption in 2020, but followers (2021 buyers) still face making this holiday season especially to gain momentum for each
- PlayStation leads ‘intent-to-buy’, with planning to purchase compared to planning to buy Xbox Series X of consumers intend to buy a next-generation console, but have not yet decided which one – this segment will be the focus of the holiday season battle
- Xbox Game users are at a higher risk than PS Now users, of Game Pass users planning buy and of PS Now planning to buy Xbox Series buyers are more likely to use YouTube than Xbox Series X buyers, but less likely to use Twitch versus
Companies and brands mentioned in this report: Amazon, Crucible, Disney, Microsoft, Luna, PlayStation, PlayStation Now, PlayStation Sony, Stadia, Twitch, Vivendi, Xbox, Xbox Game Pass, Xbox Series X, YouTube, ZeniMax Media