This year has been a great so far for Xbox, and a recent article from IGN India claims the Xbox Series S was the top-selling console in India in March 2021. This is especially interesting given how quickly PS5 pre-orders sold out in India this January.

Traditionally India is nearly undisputed PlayStation territory according to IGN, so much so that Sony has felt comfortable claiming to have a 90 percent claim in the country. With the Xbox Series S's low price point for the new generation of consoles it was bound to gain some traction, but IGN found that the console made a lot more progress than many expected.

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In speaking with multiple retailers across India, the Xbox Series S was the top-selling console in the country, with the console's stronger cousin the Xbox Series X coming in just behind at second place. Many of the retailers attribute the console's success to the more frequent restocks they have received of the console over the PS5 or even the PS4. The article quotes one store executive as saying, "Most of them showed up to buy a PS4. When we told them it was out of stock and explained to them what Game Pass is and how many [games] they get access to, they picked up a Series S instead."

The article also says a similar trend is happening online, with retailers seeing an increase in Xbox Series S sales as well as the console frequently appearing on Amazon India's best-selling list. However, many of the retailers claim the sales numbers can mostly be attributed to availability. The Xbox Series X is only being given out to major Indian retailers still, with a strong preference for online stores. A manager at a large format electronics chain is quoted as saying, "We'd have sold the same - if not more, if we had the Series X instead."

Both the new line of Xbox consoles as well as the PS5 have been difficult for fans to find due to low stock and a serious scalper problem, so the availability playing such a big role in the console's success is not surprising. Also not surprising is the mentioned swaying power of Xbox Game Pass, as Xbox has invested heavily in the service as of late and it keeps becoming an increasingly enticing deal. However, there is an expected restock of PS5s heading India's way, so it will be interesting to see how the Xbox Series S stacks up against it when they are both on store shelves.

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Source: IGN India