The National Purchase Data revealed some new sales figures (via VentureBeat.com) for the Sony PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Xbox One video game consoles for the month of January 2015. The good news came for Sony because the PlayStation 4 was the top-selling console in January. This news comes after Microsoft proudly announced that the Xbox One was the top-selling video game console for the holiday season in November and December. That was a huge comeback for Microsoft, who finally gained some ground with the Xbox One over the holidays.
Despite the Microsoft announcement of a promotional price drop for the Xbox One, the PlayStation 4 still beat the Xbox One in sales for January, which is good news for Sony. The PlayStation 4 has now sold 18.5 million units since its launch in November 2013. However, one of the more interesting tidbits from the NPD Group (via Polygon) is that the current combined hardware install base for the new-gen consoles is about 60 percent higher than the cumulative hardware totals for the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in similar points of their life cycles–15 months after the release of each console.
That is quite tremendous news for Sony and Microsoft and the futures of PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. It means players are getting into both consoles and transitioning from the previous generation of consoles to the new generation. The news indicates that Sony learned a lot from the flaws in the launch of the PlayStation 3 to the PlayStation 4. PlayStation 4 definitely started stronger and faster out of the gate than the Xbox One. However, the Xbox One appears to be catching up recently.
As a fan of both consoles, I am excited to see that the consumer base seems to be responding well to both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One. In addition, the sales news really sets the stage for the rest of the year. 2015 looks to be a much bigger year than 2014 in video gaming in terms of huge releases. Major exclusive titles will be released for the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One consoles. It will be interesting to see how far sales are pushed for both consoles throughout 2015 and the holiday season. PlayStation 4 will have Uncharted 4. Xbox One will have Halo 5: Guardians.
Competition breeds excellence. The competition is a positive thing for both Sony and Microsoft. However, even with the competition, it seems like there is room in the marketplace for both Microsoft and Sony. With the satisfaction that has come from playing and owning the new consoles, it is exciting to see the heights that both consoles will reach.
0 Comments