Analyst Firm Predicts Some Pretty Unimpressive Sales Numbers for Xbox Ports on PS5

Hellblade 2 is all I want. Keep the rest

Did my part and bought Hi-Fi Rush and Pentiment. I wanted to push Xbox to port their games over to PlayStation, voting with your wallet and all that.

The test will be when they bring their AAA games over. If Indiana Jones and FH5 (although with that being an older game, it may be a bit too late to the party) post lower numbers than Sea of Thieves then that may be the end of the Xbox ports.

They didn't really market these much, aside from Sea of Thieves, which is still getting updates. The marketing was sites saying these old games are coming which isn't much. I imagine the sales of games released near or on the same day as Xbox would be much better since they can fully commit to a release window on all platforms. And let's be honest games like Pentiment are never going to sell gangbusters, it's just nice to have it on more devices.

Those are some poor sales figures, especially for Hi Fi Rush as I thought that game was meant to be a game of the year contender.

I think almost 2 million sales after a year for such an old game is not bad, it’s actually pretty much what i had estimated it would be. As for the other games, they are pretty niche games and it did not get a big marketing push. Not as Indiana Jones is getting now. I am a bit surprised at HiFi Rush, that seems like a good game, i though that would do netter than Grounded.

These numbers seem pretty much in line with how some PS games are doing on PC. I guess if you release so long after, most of the people that wanted to play the game probably already did

I guess it's not a huge surprise. A lot of people have played these games already on Xbox or PC years ago. It's a shame to see Pentiment selling poorly (if these numbers are to be believed), as that's one of the more interesting releases here.

Well, at least Sea of Thieves has sold well. Deservedly so, as it's a super cool game with continuing support.

I just dont know what gamers want or expect anymore

Considering many of these were smaller games dropped onto PS5 in a short time with a lack of marketing the lower sales are not surprising. Sea of Thieves felt like it actually got pushed at least. Even then AA games weren't going to be crazy sellers here. More interested in seeing how Forza and Indiana Jones do as bigger titles, not to mention games releasing day one like Doom and Outer Wilds 2

Waiting for forza and Indy.

The only Microsoft owned games I'm interested to play on PlayStation (and only if I'm not forced to make an XBox account) are Blue Dragon, Lost Odyssey and Blinx . Anything else I don't care.

If these numbers were to make Microsoft rethink their strategy, what exactly will it do for them and where would they go? Go back to just releasing everything on gamepass and hardly increasing any numbers as PlayStation continues to dominate them? If all gamers want is COD, Fortnite, FIFA and Grand Theft Auto, then all these are available on PlayStation anyway, so no need to move over to Xbox for gaming purposes. The numbers were for older titles that don’t really have mass market appeal, except maybe Sea of Thieves. Doom is definitely going to sell really well, Indiana Jones will sell great too! Forza Horizons 5 will find a market, but again it’s an older title, so that might make a difference. If Microsoft had released a Gears of War Collection instead of Pentiment or The Master Chief Collection instead of Hi fi Rush, then there would not even be conversions about this because those games would have sold massively by comparisons and the Microsoft 3rd party trial would be deemed a huge success.

I think that these games simply didn't sell as well as I think they could because A. They are kinda old titles for simple PS5 ports (besides Obsidian's games) in terms of they were past their hype cycle, B. Most of them were too niche in the mainstream besides Sea of Thieves to make the previous point matter, and C. These ports got no marketing so the ones that were going to do big numbers were always the big titles that the mainstream already know about. I will say though Pentiment only selling 14k on other platforms is really bad if that's true. I feel like it just really didn't get enough attention or most people interested in it already played it elsewhere because I feel like that was one of the titles that could benefit most from going multiplatform because it was a game that just felt like it was gonna go completely ignored on Xbox. I feel like it was simply lack of marketing really on this one because I feel like it would of done pretty well for it's size at least on Switch

They out games no one wants anywhere outside of Sea of Thieves. Shame hifi rush sold so few but who the heck wanted Grounded, a pc style game in AOE, and no one absolutely no one was ever interested in pentiment

@themightyant agreed. People always vastly underestimate the effect of no longer being in the zeitgeist.

I think they should try and time single player ps5 releases with DLC/Expansion drops if they ever want large sales numbers while still having an exclusivity period elsewhere

Still waiting for the LRG release of Hifi Rush

Just give me gears of war 1-3 and halo 1-3 Microsoft, and I'll be playing it on day one on ps5 😃

VGChartz also boasted that their estimates were very close, but in reality they were constantly way off. I'll wait for official numbers.

@RagnarLothbrok that's a little disingenuous and rude. They may be out of the zeitgeist and talking ppints but every single game in that list boasts over an 80 on metacritic. All are good, respectable games

And unfortunately, Sonys games don't do any better. Sales are worse in many aspects and this also misses the point that these games are essentially already paid for....every PS sale is pure profit.

This is doing something for MS and XBox that Sony isn't doing for PS....securing the platforms finances. Expanding the fan base. Growing the numbers of players who know of and enjoy XBox 1st party titles. Increasing the MAUs in the XBox eco-system. Preparing for the "Content Wars" of rival streaming services.

Sales on PS don't have to be high for the port to be successful. Nobody expected a niche title like Pentiment or even HellBlade 2 (coming soon) to sell in huge numbers. And the pre-orders show that titles like Indy or Forza will sell. And drown out Sonys 1st party on PS.

Pentiment is a top 10 of all time for me. It's very story heavy and gameplay light, but such a fantastic experience.

@Kierant202 respectfully, critic scores mean nothing to some people in today’s world as they are paid off or get social brownie points for having certain elements in their games whether beneficial or destructivr

@naruball you will never get them from MS.

Some hit and miss which is normal, as a good % will have played on Xbox/PC while many others will wait for a sale as the games are ‘old’ (even if new to ps).

But there is potential there for MS.

@Shepherd_Tallon when Avowed was announced I was a 10/10 interested, but over the years showed the Dev and the eventual release it went from that to a 0/10 after playing it. Probably one of my biggest disappointments in gaming hype

@RagnarLothbrok I can't stress just how much this is true. Critics cannot be trusted at all

And more x box games is still coming to the ps5.so it's all good. Word up son

@neillaw @RagnarLothbrok I can't stress enough how tiring it is to watch people question the validity of critics and reviews.

It's not like user reviews are pillars of impartial objectivism. There's no conspiracy. There's no agenda. Reviews are the opinions of people paid to give their opinions. You're not going to agree with all of them, but that doesn't mean they are dishonest.

Seems about right for the games provided. Doom, forza indy will topple sea of thieves

@RoomWithaMoose exactly. And, I mean, how likely is it that they're all bought, yet no one has admitted so even after being fired/ left to work in a different field. Conspiracy theories are unintentionally funny.

@PsBoxSwitchOwner I don't expect them from MS. Circana and the weekly UK sales charts are quite useful.

Hi Fi Rush barely sold on Xbox either due to being in game pass and as much as I like the game the rhythm part of it's combat kinda sucks some of the fun out for me.

As for the rest it all depends on how much effort it takes to port. If it doesn't cost a lot and takes minimal manpower it's never a waste to stick them on another platform, it's extra cash at the end of the day and its more money made than the initial outlay, well quids in. Don't see the point of these articles or the "analysts" either.

Why would this be considered unimpressive? It's tens of millions in extra revenue that Microsoft previously didnt have. Once Halo and gears comes on over I am sure they will make tons more too.

@GnomishViking if Pertinent has sold only that many copies, isn't it possible that the port cost more than it made on ps5?

@RoomWithaMoose In retort I can't stress enough how much the reviews are a lot of the time not valid and are very contradictory within themselves.

Giving games 100/100 and then following on to note all the clear flaws with a game is simply NOT genuine and just one critic doing this impacts the overall score tremendously. When you realise it's not just the odd 1 doing this, you start to realise it's true that the critic scores simply cannot be trusted.

Again, I won't change my mind on something that's quite evidently factual and obvious. The user scores aren't perfect, but when nothing is perfect you can only rely on yourself and without that, a majority.

That's likely more then it's selling on Xbox 🤷‍♂️

@naruball conspiracy theories are there to give a nice dopamine boost because it all fits together soooo nicely. Oh and confirmation bias too.

@Shepherd_Tallon currently playing avowed and loving it, the story is a bit meh for me though

@Jrs1 Roblox and fortnite

Give us physical editions and I'll bite. And I mean REAL physical editions, not that Indiana Jones BS, which ships with a disc without the full game.

@neillaw @RoomWithaMoose absolutely agree. Watch gameplay and make decision yourself or find an independent you trust more for their more honest thoughts.

I thought that Microsoft were encouraged by the sales of those ports? And openly said so? Surely that’s what matters most. And, as mentioned, the upcoming titles (Forza Horizon and Indy) are MUCH bigger titles.

Did not know half of them are on PS tbh lol

Just like how I say when a PS game that's ported over to pc, even if the game isn't blowing up the sales chart, the extra sales the game is getting on pc is still extra revenue for the devs.

The same line of thinking can be applied here to the Xbox titles coming over to Playstation.

@MasterChiefWiggum I think strong numbers are more telling than PR, but yes, if they keep porting them, it means they're satisfied/thrilled with their performance so far.

There is only a select few games people want from Xbox to be fair, and also the big stick the price....people feel robbed paying full whack for 4 or more year old game,.yes i know it's port etc required work but that's just how it is, also digital, after forza, halo and Fable and gears release sales will get even worse on the ports and maybe hellblade will do a few good numbers

I mean, these weren't exactly heavy hitting franchises in today's day and age. It ALWAYS baffled me why these particular titles were chosen as the titles for Microsoft's proof of strategy. What did they expect? Did they think PS5 players were chomping at the bit for Penitent? (Was anyone, statistically speaking?)

You want to push units, then give PS gamers stuff they truly hunger for, the stuff that says, "Oh, wow. Xbox is taking this seriously." Give gamers Halo, Gears of War, and Forza. Those are the big IPs. Period.

If all they hand over are the titles Microsoft themselves don't put huge support behind, then why would PS gamers think they're getting anything of value?

You can vote with your wallet, surely, but you have to understand there were never many gamers in the market willing to open their wallet for these particular titles to begin with. It's like if Sony did this and the first games they ported were Patapon and The Order. It's a tepid release lineup and anyone saying otherwise is fooling themselves. A game can be critically well-received and still not have a place in the market. That's reality. Until we see Master Chief and Marcus Fenix on the PS Store, this will be half-assed/lackluster at best.

The fact they're releasing years-old titles at full price is another huge factor that they're not getting enough flack for.

To be fair, maybe one of these is the type of game that could find mainstream success (Sea of Thieves) and even that is a totally new IP to PlayStation owners. The rest are very niche. Then add to that they're being released years late, I can't imagine Microsoft expected much more.

@Toot1st Yup more than likely till the next thing comes along.

@RagnarLothbrok Something commonly said in online circles but not as widespread proven considering the number of different outlets agree from various places.

Regardless the user scores for all four of those games are all at 7.6 or higher. And taking pentiment as the lowest of the lot the low reviews are laughably boiled down to 'not next gen graphics, don't wanna read'.

God forbid we have non mainstream games out here

I didn't even know Pentiment was on PS5.

Anyways big shrug. That's games publishing. It's not going to magically sell crazy numbers just because an Xbox game is, omg oh noes, on a Sony console.

However what I can plainly see is that every single one of those sales would not have existed without the port and represents Microsoft making money they otherwise would not have.

How low do sales have to be before they can't pay for the price of the porting process? Don't know. But that's the risk every publisher takes with any port.

I think it needs to be remembered that each of these games was available on the Game Pass, sometimes for several years. And whilst it is a popular sport on this and other sites to knock Xbox, many people on these sites own both a PlayStation [b]and]/b] an Xbox, so many people who predominantly game on a PlayStation will have already played these games and not felt the need to double dip...

PlayStation are also a third party publisher.

These numbers feel about right to me. What would be interesting is to see what they sold on Xbox in comparison. The only lesson I see MS taking from this is they might not port their lesser known older titles anymore. Which would suck because I really want Sunset Overdrive, Quantum Break, Crackdown, and Banjo Kazooie to come over some day.

@naruball you might be waiting a long time for real sales numbers.

MS don’t release them any more do they? We might get some crappy “engagement” numbers or something though.

@Dodoo I know, I know. Thankfully, we don't have to rely on MS to see if a game is performing decently

@UltimateOtaku91 if sales are all that matters for a GOTY contender... Astro Bot should never have been in the conversation.

You can't have it both ways. The quality of the game has nothing to do with sales. Don't come with such a ridiculous argument trying to slight something based on sales when you won't keep the same energy for the ones you claim deserve acclaim.

I bought Hi-Fi Rush and while it has cool style I didn't think it was very fun to play and dropped it realtively quickly.

@neillaw This entire comment is built around the premise that a 10/10 is a universally understood and agreed upon symbol of quality. It is not.

Your indirect allusion to Metacritic/whatever-that-other-one-is being THE overall score continues to display a very juvenile understanding of reviews, review scores, reviewers, and the value of art in general.

@RagnarLothbrok Mostly agree. Watch gameplay and make the decision yourself or find a reviewer, independent or otherwise, you think closely aligns with your own qualitative values.

I will add to that, though, that once you've gamed enough, you can mostly just follow your gut. Follow reviews, independent or otherwise, for discovery purposes — or, these days, to make sure a game functions. But you'll generally know what you're interested in, and will probably enjoy it more if you don't preemptively scrutinize every last bit of it.

The first four letters of the word Analyst always seem approriate for that word.

@RoomWithaMoose metacritic reviews for critics are out of 100 and when you give a perfect score and you are a critic, that's EXACTLY the reasoning I previously mentioned. There is nothing juvenile here other than you getting upset due to my opinion whilst saying critics opinions are all valid, the irony and hypocrisy is astounding...

The discussion was based around that and that's exactly the message given by those scores. There's not even a debate here and I won't continue to respond to someone who is just declining facts.

The Hi-Fi Rush slander in this comment section is unreal.

I bought Hi-fi Rush as fancied a game like that even (if wasn't big fan of rhythm aspect of it)

I'll be getting Indie for my birthday and may get Forza when it's down in price

Pick better games to port (IE Halo, Gears Of War, Sunset Overdrive, etc.) and the sales numbers will be better.

Pentiment isn't a particularly console game - being so test heavy.

I enjoyed it, and I loved the stylism, but it did the LA Noire murder mystery structure which I hate - where you know there is a bigger figure behind the murders (and I knew who it was one from early in Act One) but you can't do anything about it and are forced to ignore it until the end of the game.

Offer me a physical copy of your product with the game on the disc and I'll probably buy it (and likely day one at full price).

Try and force me into an all digital environment and it'll be a solid no each and every time.

@neillaw I'm really trying to understand what your comment means...

The most I can parse is you correcting my use of "10/10" when Metacritic represents any numerical metric as 'of/100' (which I might argue misses the point I lightly made about scoring, and further contributes to my "juvenile" comment); you getting upset about my use of the word "juvenile" (uhh, sorry); drawing an equivalence between my defense of reviewers' opinions and my scrutiny of your opinion so as to call my position hypocritical (I mean, I'm talking specifically about opinions apropos artistic appreciation and evaluation. There are definitely wrong, misinformed, and malicious opinions when speaking generally); and my failure to comprehend facts (aren't...you saying your position is based on your opinions about reviews? So, we're not talking facts...? Regardless, you can say something like, "Game Informer [YAY!] factually gave MH Wilds a 8.75," but it's not factual what that 8.75 means. Or a 10. Or 100. This was the premise I called incorrect).

If I misunderstood any of your points, feel free to let me know. Again, I'm just struggling to grasp what you're trying to say.

Xbox Games LOL

• the only one worthy of heading over to the PS ecosystem is Gears of War.

Pentiment has 726 ratings on the PSN store, while only a fraction of buyers actually rate them, it is in line with a lot of highly rated lower budget games. Hardly seems not worth it to me.

Hi-Fi Rush was a complete flop on Xbox, it's not surprising in the least that a PS5 port with zero marketing didn't make a splash. Anyone expecting it to be a big financial success is living in the hardcore gamer bubble.

Nothing but complete guess work no doubt wrapped in some technical jargon to add legitimacy to what is essentially plucking a number from their arse. Microsoft won't release actual figures to ever prove/disprove them so they're free to just make these claims with no foundation. No idea why this has even been given the time of day.

Grounded and Hi-Fi Rush are second rate games so the numbers are not bad considering that.

Those look like decent numbers to me considering how niche or old some of those games are.

@themightyant
I'd say its different from Sony releasing a game on PC.
For Sony its just extra money in most cases, those games usually sell well enough on Playstation.
For Xbox on the other hand, those games didn't sell enough units on their original target platform, releasing on other platforms is just a way to avert a major loss of revenue, keyword here being revenue because it will most likely not turn into profit.

Also, this is just me but I think the Xbox brand on some titles might hurt sales more than not having it. CoD and Doom gets a pass because most people don't associate those brands to Xbox or Microsoft, same with Minecraft.

Personally (and I might be in the minority here) I'm not supporting anything that Microsoft releases on the PS5 purely based on their past actions involving the acquisition of Bethesda and Activision-Blizzard.

I view it as an attempt by Microsoft to literally buy up the gaming industry, and it looks like it has backfired on them spectacularly.

I'm not advocating for people to boycott Microsoft's games on the PS5.

I would just like Microsoft to have their "Chickens Coming Home to Roost" moment regarding their idiotic acquisitions.

@themightyant I know where you are coming, but using CoD as a comparison when it's one of the biggest franchises there is proves nothing, the IP was massive before the Xbox buy out, New IP is a gamble nowadays, which I think you would agree with.

Indiana Jones and Forza Horizon will be a different story. Let’s be honest.

I thought it was interesting to note that the order of popularity of those games is exactly inverse to my own levels of interest in each...

@Dan-The-Van Hellblade 2 was so awful, I still haven’t been able to bring myself to finish. And I liked the first game. The only good thing about the sequel are the phenomenal graphics.

I'm sure the sales numbers will look exponentially better for Indiana Jones, Forza, and Doom. Those are all very recognizable franchises and much more mainstream genres. As good as a game like Pentiment may be, it's definitely more of a narrow appeal.