2020 has been quite the year. A global pandemic, an American election, oh, and of course, the next generation of gaming launching in the form of the PlayStation 5 and Xbox Series X/S . Gaming has been in the headlines all year long, and with more people at home than ever , the industry has seen a bit of a bump.
The PS5 and Xbox Series X/S consoles have been the talk of the gaming town for almost all of 2020. Whether it was Xbox's surprise unveil at The Game Awards 2019 , or fans itching for any information on Sony's new machine when there was nothing but silence, these two next-gen machines have been top of mind for many throughout 2020, and with supply constraints and new game announcements on the horizon, this trend should continue well into the new year.
NEWS
As detailed in Google's Year in Search 2020 , Playstation 5 was the 10th most searched term of the year in the United States. Other topics on the list include Chadwick Boseman , Kobe Bryant and the Coronavirus.
The full list can be seen below:
1. Election Results
2. Coronavirus
3. Kobe Bryant
4. Coronavirus Update
5. Coronavirus Symptoms
6. Zoom
7. Who is winning the election
8. Naya Rivera
9. Chadwick Boseman
10. PlayStation 5
And the most searched games of 2020 goes as follows:
1. Among Us
2. Fall Guys: Ultimate Knockout
3. Valorant
4. Genshin Impact
5. Ghost of Tsushima
6. Animal Crossing
7. Assassin's Creed: Valhalla
8. The Last of Us Part 2
9. Madden NFL 2021
10. Jackbox
WHAT THIS MEANS
While it is exciting to see Sony's new console make Google's yearly list, it is a little concerning for those over at Microsoft. Where the heck is the Xbox Series X/S? It's not there! Now, Google does not provide anything more than the top ten, so Xbox could be sitting right there at eleven, but that also could not be the case.
In the weeks since these two consoles have been put out into the world, conversation has seemed to center on the PS5. Though there are still tons of Xbox conversations amongst fans, they do not seem to be nearly as loud or as plentiful as those happening on the Sony side. This could be because Sony has had exciting exclusive games coming right from launch day, whereas Xbox has not.
It will be interesting to look at these same stats at this time next year see if both or either of these consoles are still in the conversation the way they have been this past year.