One analyst estimates that the PS5 will sell more units than the two new Xbox game consoles combined.

Piers Harding-Rolls of Ampere Analysis claims that the PS5 will sell 5 million units by the end of the year, while the Xbox Series X and Xbox Series S will sell only 3.9 million units combined.

This trend will continue into the future, with Xbox sales remaining fairly stable while PS5 sales accelerate slightly. In 2024, the latest point in the graph, analysts predict that the PS5 will sell 67.3 million units, compared to 44.3 million units for the next-generation Xbox.

But why would that be the case? After all, we learned earlier this week that the Xbox Series X will start at $499/£449 and the Xbox Series S at $299/£249. The PS5, meanwhile, is expected to cost between $500 and $600, although the download-only PS5 Digital Edition will be a bit cheaper.

The analysis also lavishes praise on Xbox's new multi-tier strategy, selling two console options instead of just one. Harding-Rolls also notes that the Xbox Game Pass and Xbox All Access subscription services are PlayStation offers PlayStation Now as a competitor to Game Pass, and retailers are considering similar offers to All Access and similar offers are reportedly being considered, while Xbox's service is more established.

The report adds that it may be more difficult to market the console to gamers because there are more separate parts to the Xbox's offerings. However, Harding-Rolls believes that Xbox will benefit from this approach, encouraging gamers who normally would not upgrade their consoles for another couple of years to purchase the Xbox family closer to launch.

And here's the problem: Harding-Rolls' report believes that this new Series S strategy from Microsoft will not shift PlayStation users to Xbox, but will only encourage existing user groups to enter the next generation of consoles sooner.

However, pricing is not the only consideration in this new console battle. Equally important is what games will be available to play. Whereas Microsoft has a compelling selection of exclusives, including "Halo: Infinite," a new "Fable" title, "Hellblade 2," and a new "Forza" title, Sony has "Ratchet & Clank," "Horizon: Zero Dawn," "Spider-Man: Miles Morales," and "Gran Turismo 7," and will offer new titles from popular series. And these lineups will very likely determine which console comes out on top.