The PlayStation 4 has consistently been outselling the Xbox One: in January it was by as much as a two to one ratio. Sony's console stayed ahead in February in the US but Microsoft really closed the gap, with Xbox One selling 258,000 units, 90% of the PS4's roughly 286,000. In Microsoft's favor, because its console is more expensive, it generated more money than the PS4 this month despite lagging slightly in sales.
According to the NPD Group, total hardware sales were $347 million, while software sales were way up in February, earning $318 million. This is an 80% increase compared to the first four months of the Xbox 360 and PS3. Consoles "experienced double-to-triple digit increases compared to January 2014," according to NPD's Liam Callahan.
Microsoft closing the gap on Sony in the world's largest single market is good news for them, as is raking in more money on each console sold. With the launch of Titanfall this month, especially given that the huge title is available bundled with the console, it wouldn't be too surprising if Xbox One outsells PS4 in March, the first time that would happen.
On the software side, these were the top ten best-selling games between the period of February 2 and March 1, ranked by total sales:
- Call Of Duty: Ghosts (360, PS3, XBO, PS4, NWU, PC)*
- The LEGO Movie Videogame (360, PS3, 3DS, NWU, XBO, PS4, PSV)
- NBA 2K14 (360, PS4, PS3, XBO, PC)*
- Thief (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3)
- Grand Theft Auto V (360, PS3)*
- Battlefield 4 (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC)
- Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (360, PS4, PS3, XBO, NWU, PC)*
- Lightning Returns: Final Fantasy XIII (PS3, 360)
- Minecraft (360)
- Bravely Default (3DS)
*(Excludes units bundled with hardware, but includes collectors and game of the year editions, etc)
The 3DS is still popular, and Pokemon X and Pokemon Y continue to be big sellers for Nintendo, with lifetime US sales reaching 3.6 million. Bravely Default was in the top ten titles for them, moving 200,000 units in three weeks.
Minecraft incredibly is still remaining in the top ten, and never seems to stop selling. Microsoft claims it has 48% of the software market following more than 772,000 Xbox One games and 2.46 million Xbox 360 titles sold in February.
Source: IGN