It looks like 2014 is primed to be the year of the PlayStation. The Wall Street Journal reports that, for the first time in years, Sony has taken the lead with combined home console and portable hardware sales worldwide. After conceding to Nintendo last year by just 200,000 units, the popularity of the PlayStation 4 and continued adoption of the PS Vita have given Sony a comfortable lead at 18.7 million combined sales, 2.4 million over Nintendo and 7.2 million over Microsoft.
The sales data from market research firm Statista includes PS4, PS3, PS2, PSP and PS Vita sales when determining Sony’s success. Nintendo’s combined hardware sales include the Wii, Wii U, DS and 3DS. Nintendo has dominated the handheld market for years, so even as the Wii U flopped, the 3DS continued to increase its market share faster than any other game console. Microsoft only has two consoles in contention — the Xbox 360 and Xbox One — but 360 sales remained relatively strong over the holidays with a competitive price tag.
After Sony’s strong showing at E3, there’s little doubt that the king of the new generation will close out the year on top, but with a Kinect-less Xbox One bundle on the market, Microsoft might start to gain some of the ground it lost when the consoles launched last year.
