With Microsoft no longer reporting specific hardware or software shipments for the Xbox One, public market watchers are forced to use tidbits from other sources to try to divine the system's performance relative to the console competition. GameStop provided one of those tidbits in its latest earnings report , noting that its new and preowned software sales were both hurt by "lagging Xbox One sales."

The mega-retailer, which has nearly 4,000 stores in the US and 2,000 more internationally, didn't share specific breakouts for the Xbox One or other consoles, but it did say that new and preowned software sales had declined 3.4 and 7.5 percent, respectively. Microsoft's "lagging" performance was the only reason for that drop that the retailer shared publicly; GameStop cited the slow sales a number of times in an earnings call yesterday. "In both new and preowned, we're seeing underperformance in Xbox One versus PS4, which we believe is due to the coming Xbox One X launch," GameStop CFO Robert Lloyd said in that call.

Yes, this report just reflects sales from one (major) retailer and doesn't take into account direct software downloads through the Xbox One itself. Still, the "underperformance" can't be a good sign for an Xbox division that has been falling well behind Sony on the hardware front for years now (though Microsoft has downplayed the importance of that relative race). For current Xbox One owners, poor sales relative to other consoles could continue to impact the presence of third-party exclusives and cross-platform ports on the system, at least at the margins.

GameStop was more optimistic about Microsoft's console future, though, thanks to the upcoming Xbox One X. "We also just started taking preorders on the Xbox One X this week. And while it's still early, we are pleased with the initial consumer response to this powerful new console."

Microsoft announced today that the Xbox One X is its "fastest selling preorder ever," but it's hard to gauge the significance of that statement without direct numbers to compare to (and just five days of preorder data to go by). That said, Microsoft's Aaron Greenberg told Dualshockers this week that the company is "gonna make as many Xbox One Xs as we can make" to keep up with "overwhelming" demand, so it seems Microsoft is counting on the hardware refresh to rejuvenate its entire console business.

Switch sellouts “will continue through the holiday”

Elsewhere in its earnings report, GameStop confirmed that the immense marketplace success of the Nintendo's Switch has lasted well past the initial hype surrounding its March launch . Switch hardware inventory sells out "in a matter of days of it being available in our stores and our websites," Bartel said. "We believe that this will continue through the holiday."

More than that, the Switch has been "our most successful Nintendo launch ever" GameStop CEO Paul Raines said, with stores selling five accessories and games for each piece of Switch hardware. The system helped push GameStop's hardware sales up 14.8 percent for the quarter, year over year, and total sales to rise 3.4 percent.

On the software front, Bartel said sales of all that Switch software are "helping to offset some declines in Xbox One." Thanks primarily to the Switch, new software sales are actually outpacing pre-owned sales at GameStop, a rarity given store's usual reliance on high-margin used game marketing.

"The Switch launch is one of the keys we have been watching all year to gauge the consumer's appetite for gaming," Raines said. "Based on the results so far, the consumer's appetite for gaming is healthy and we believe that all consoles have opportunities for growth."