Xbox Series X is now outselling Series S in the US, per new sales report — but console hardware is still dropping

Xbox Series X has outsold Series S in the U.S, according to the September 2024 Circana sales report.

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What you need to know

There’s interesting new insights in the world of video game hardware.

Microsoft’s higher-endXbox Series Xis now outselling theXbox Series Sin the U.S, with the big boy taking up 58% of units sold in September 2024, per Circana  executive director and advisor Mat Piscatella, who shared the details on Wednesday in a thread onBluesky. Xbox Series X now accounts for 51% of Xbox Series X|S console sales in the U.S, life-to-date.

The PlayStation 5 was the best-selling console of September 2024 overall, with Xbox Series X|S second in dollar sales and Nintendo Switch second in units sold. Xbox, PlayStation, and Nintendo hardware was down 54%, 45%, and 23% year-over-year, for a total drop of 44% in hardware spending for the monthcompared to September 2023.

Xbox Series X 1TB Digital Edition | $449.99 at Amazon

The Xbox Series X Digital Edition ditches the disc drive to give you $50 in additional savings. The white console is otherwise largely unchanged, save for a new CPU process that should boost power efficiency slightly.

See at:Amazon

Below, you can find details for the best-selling games of the month. Bear in mind that some publishers like Nintendo and Focus Entertainment don’t share digital data, throwing off the placement for games likeWarhammer 40,000: Space Marine 2.

September 2024 Circana: Here are the top 20 best-selling games in the U.S.

1. EA Sports FC 252. Astro Bot3. Madden NFL 254. The Legend of Zelda: Echoes of Wisdom5. EA Sports College Football 256. Star Wars Outlaws7. NBA 2K258. Hogwarts Legacy9. NHL 2510. God of War Ragnarok11. Dead Rising12. Final Fantasy 1613. Elden Ring14. Minecraft***15. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)16. Marvel vs. Capcom Fighting Collection: Arcade Classics17. Age of Mythology18. Warhammer 40,000: Space Marine 219. Ghost of Tsushima20. EA Sports MVP Bundle

September 2024 Circana: Here are the best-selling games of the year so far

1. EA Sports College Football 252. Helldivers 23. Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 3 (2023)4. EA Sports MVP Bundle5. Elden Ring6. Dragon’s Dogma 27. Madden NFL 258. MLB The Show 249. WWE 2K2410. EA Sports FC 2511. Hogwarts Legacy12. Final Fantasy 7 Rebirth13. Tekken 814. NBA 2K2415. Grand Theft Auto V16. Madden NFL 2417. Minecraft****18. Suicide Squad: Kill the Justice League19. EA Sports FC 2420. Persona 3 Reload

Denotes no digital sales dataDenotes no digital sales data on Xbox or Nintendo SwitchDenotes no digital sales data for July through September****Denotes no digital sales data on Nintendo

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The evergreen gaming franchises are continuing to excel, with tremendous performance from EA Sports FC 25, which is up a double-digit percentage compared to the launch of FC 24 last year. It’s also nice to see PlayStation’s Astro Bot making a solid debut.

Still, the drops around console hardware are rough, there’s simply no other way to put it. Many have their hopes pinned on big games coming next year, such asGrand Theft Auto 6andMonster Hunter Wilds, but I’m not sure that’ll be enough of a solution.

It’s fairly telling to me that the lower-powered, lower-priced Xbox Series S is now being outsold by the Xbox Series X. Hardcore players might be interested in upgrading, but the more casual audience simply isn’t moving on from their decade-old hardware.

Samuel Tolbert is a freelance writer covering gaming news, previews, reviews, interviews and different aspects of the gaming industry, specifically focusing on Xbox and PC gaming on Windows Central. You can find him on Twitter@SamuelTolbert.