Despite both Sony and Microsoft reporting similar new consoles sales numbers so far, AllThingsD says citing a new NPD Group report that the PlayStation 4 outsold the Xbox One in the U.S. in November – or at least it sort of did. The PS4 registered “the highest first month sales of a hardware platform on record,” according to the report, although the console was available in stores for a week longer than the Xbox One. Citing the same report, Microsoft’s Larry “Major Nelson” Hryb tweeted that the “Xbox One was the fastest selling console in North America [in November] averaging 101,000 units sold per day,” sportively adding that “both next generation platforms are off to a great start” in a following tweet.
However, NPD said that Microsoft’s per-week victory may not be telling the whole truth, as “supply typically becomes constrained in the second week after launch.” Soon after the PS4 launch, Best Buy did say it was running out of consoles. “Demand continues to overwhelm supply,” Sony’s America CEO Jack Tretton told AllThingsD, “but we’re working hard to get PS4 units into the hands of customers throughout the holiday season.”
Sony launched the PS4 on November 15 in U.S. and Canada, while Microsoft released the Xbox One on November 22 in 13 markets including the USA. Both Sony and Microsoft registered over 1 million new console sales each in the first day of sales. Soon after launching the PS4 in other markets Sony announced it topped 2.1 million PS4 sales in 32 countries, with Microsoft recently announcing it has matched that number as well, although the Xbox One is still available in only 13 markets.
Overall, console sales are up 80% compared to the same period last year, although sales for games introduced in November 2013 are down 41% compared to games introduced in the same month last year, suggesting that exclusive launch titles for both the PS4 and the Xbox One may not be that exciting.
BGR has thoroughly reviewed both the PS4 and the Xbox One, and compared the new flagship consoles.
