According to the NPD Group’s latest report, Sony's new console managed to outsell Microsoft's Xbox One nearly 2:1.
In the wake of the NPD Group’s report, Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo frequently issue reaction statements highlighting their own successes. This month, Sony definitely had the most to gloat about, announcing the PlayStation 4 is outselling the Xbox One in the US by a significant margin.
“Demand for PlayStation 4 remains incredibly strong as it was No. 1 in sales for next-gen consoles in January, nearly doubling the nearest next-gen competitor, and remains the cumulative leader, according to today’s NPD report,” Sony’s Guy Longworth said in a statement provided to VentureBeat.
“Although PS4 remains severely constrained at retail, we are working hard to refresh supply as quickly as possible.”
It was software that was the problem. Sales were down 26% year-on-year after normalisation, at $232 million. NPD analyst Liam Callahan said sales of late-year releases a aren’t tailing ans strongly as they have in past years.
“A major factor in the decline in software this month was the slide in performance of November and December 2013 launches during January 2014 compared to how November and December 2012 launches performed in January 2013,” he said.
“These November and December launches collectively decreased 36%, or 20% when normalised to account for the 5-week January 2013.” A lack of new releases was also an issue.
“There were about half the number of SKUs launched this January versus January 2013, leading to a 52% decrease in sales for new launches (or 39% when normalised),” he added.
“DMC: Devil May Cry and Ni No Kuni: Wrath of the White Witch were particularly strong launches in January 2013, causing a poor comparison for launches in January 2014.”
January 2014 top 10 games (new physical retail, all platforms including PC)
- Call of Duty: Ghosts (PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
- NBA 2K14 (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
- Battlefield 4 (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
- Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag (PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
- Grand Theft Auto 5 (PS3, Xbox 360)
- Madden NFL 25 (PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
- Minecraft (Xbox 360)
- FIFA 14 (PS3, PS4, Vita, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
- Lego Marvel Super Heroes (3DS, PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
- Tomb Raider (PC, PS3, PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One)
