Sony has staged an assault on Microsoft's home territory, and topped the NPD charts with the PlayStation 4. According to the platform holder — which doesn't ordinarily engage in the monthly sales merry-go-round — its next generation console was the best-selling system in North America in November, moving one million units in 24 hours. It's worth pointing out that the Japanese giant's system deployed a week earlier in the region, and the Xbox One maker has attempted to counter that by claiming that its console is selling faster. For reference, it took the latter nine days to cross 900,000 sales, so it's moving at a rate of about 100,000 units a day. That's some decent spin.
"This afternoon we learned from the market research firm the NPD Group that the PS4 was the top-selling console for November and PlayStation was number one in sales overall for home consoles," marketing executive Guy Longworth explained on the PlayStation Blog. "This news comes on the heels of yesterday’s confirmation that the PS4 launch is the biggest ever in the history of game consoles."
With new machines on the market, overall sales in the sector increased by seven per cent year-over-year, from $2.5 billion to $2.7 billion. Unsurprisingly, hardware saw the biggest improvement, pulling in over $1.3 billion — an enormous 58 per cent enhancement over 2012. Despite all of this, software sales actually decreased by 24 per cent, netting just $1.1 billion overall.
None of the major first-party launch titles managed to register on the top-ten, with Call of Duty: Ghosts coming out on top. Battlefield 4 fired into second, while Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag certainly didn't sink in third. Other charting next-gen releases included Madden NFL 25, NBA 2K14, Skylanders: Swap Force, Just Dance 2014, and FIFA 14. The unstoppable Grand Theft Auto V and Disney Infinity were the only strictly current-gen titles to appear.
We've included the full list of best-sellers in the space below. Are you impressed by the PS4's performance? Did you expect it to be further ahead of the Xbox One? Are you surprised that Killzone: Shadow Fall failed to chart? Share your shock in the comments section below.
November NPD Software Top-Ten
1. Call of Duty: Ghosts (PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, X360, XBO)
2. Battlefield 4 (PC, PS#, PS4, X360, XBO)
3. Assassin’s Creed 4: Black Flag (PC, PS3, PS4, Wii U, X360, XBO)
4. Madden NFL 25 (PS3, PS4, X360, XBO)
5. Grand Theft Auto 5 (PS3, X360)
6. NBA 2K14 (PC, PS3, PS4, X360, XBO)
7. Skylanders: Swap Force (3DS, PS3, PS3, Wii, Wii U, X360, XBO)
8. Just Dance 2014 (PS3, PS4, Wii, Wii U, X360, XBO)
9. Disney Infinity (3DS, PS3, Wii, Wii U, X360)
10. FIFA 14 (PS3, PS4, Vita, X360, XBO)
[source blog.us.playstation.com, via vg247.com, joystiq.com]
Comments 29
Honestly I am not surprised about the PS4 performance. I figured that it would outsell the Xbox One out the get go like it did. I know alot of people like me who were happy to come back to Sony this gen.
I feel like it's going to be a fierce battle in North America. To be honest, Sony doesn't really need to topple the Xbox One there to come out on top globally. Obviously, it needs to perform much better than what it did with the PS3, though. This is a very strong start, but there's a long road ahead.
Sony's wearing the crown.
The big question now is what they are going to do with it?
@get2sammyb: I agree I think this gen will be alot closer for Sony and MS then the previous two gens. This is really an exciting time.
Good early numbers but Sony has done horrible providing stock to retailers and that could hurt in December. Despite all the bs MS tried to pull, this not-so-bright market still can't get enough of that brand, MS is providing stores with consoles and with hits like Titanfall I expect the X1 will win NA in the end. However, Sony does have more momentum here than it has in a while and if it can strike while the iron is hot (which means getting systems to stores so they can sell them) it has a chance to make this a closer battle than last time. 360 trounced PS3, but PS4 has had more positivity surrounding it than the PS3 did for a long time so this gen could at least be competitive though in addition to stocking shelves, I think Sony needs to fight fire with fire. MS bought Titanfall and it has pried MGS away, once that happened Sony needed to at least buy Watch_Dogs, which has potential to be huge if Ubi can sort out its issues. The ship has likely sailed on that but we know Red Dead and GTA will be making it to the next-gen at some point. If I'm somebody in charge at Sony I'm trying to get substancial exclusive content for Red Dead and getting at least a 10-12 month window on GTA VI. That's how it will have to compete here.
@Gamer83 There's no way Sony will invest massively in third-party content when it could fund its own software for the same sum. Also, don't forget that the stock situation in North America hasn't exactly been helped by the fact that it's enjoyed a record-breaking launch in Europe, too.
@get2sammyb
The problem for Sony is while it has a lot of great first-party content not a single franchise, except maybe Gran Turismo, could be considered a system-seller. GTA, even if just timed-exclusive, would move consoles. Sony may not want to invest massively like that, but if it wants to compete in the biggest market, it has to, especially when MS is buying exclusives left and right and getting important former-exclusives like MGS. Outside of Call of Duty, there may not be a bigger name than GTA and it's no secret that the series was largely responsible for PS2's massive success. Buying exclusives is a business practice I don't care for, but if MS is doing it, the unfortunate reality is Sony has to play that game too.
@Gamer83 Unfortunately as it would seem they are Already playing that game http://t.co/dgpDnF5Uln
@DaftPlayStation
There was no description really on what that content is though. If it's mostly just two weeks for an extra map or two, that's nothing compared to a full exclusive on Titanfall or Sunset Overdrive.
@Gamer83 but is it Deep Down a full exclusive?
@DaftPlayStation
Don't know. Regardless, it's free-to-play, could still be great but it won't have system-selling impact like Titanfall or like GTA, even if it was just a timed-exclusive, would.
@Gamer83 supposedly Dec 15th looks like the day NA will be receiving large numbers to restock shelves.
i wouldnt know , still cant find a ps4.
@longshot28
That'd be the absolute latest I think Sony would want to get them out. There's definitely demand for the console so hopefully it can stock retailers well enough to meet it. MS has done a good job with this.
@Gamer83 Sony is not doing anything wrong with the PS4 supply, there is such a thing as worldwide you know.
While MS only caters to the US (by diverting the majority of its stock), Sony is getting worldwide mindshare by fairly distributing stock to all the release countries. In the long run this tactic will have Sony dominating worldwide figures.
Take into account that Sony is manufacturing in 2 countries Japan/China, so is producing more consoles than MS, but still can't keep up with demand.
I know in january there will be many stocks in shelf unsold here in Indonesia. I'm in the right mind not too buy $700 for ps4 right?
The PS4 is an excellent product and I am very happy with it, very happy indeed.
What I'm not as enthusiastic about it is the rather juvenile comparison of console sales figures for Xbox & PS4. If people insist on going down the statistics road then surely it's game sales that matter more than console sales because that where they make more money.
Don't get me wrong, I want to buy more PS4 games but at the moment there seem to be fewer options for us on PlayStation. It seems like on Xbox, PC and WiiU there is a healthier selection of games to choose from this Christmas so I suspect that they will sell more games and generate more profit. But even figures like this don't interest me.
What I am very interested in is the new and wonderful things that I'll be able to do and play on my PS4 in the coming months. The best part about this is it's completely unrelated to how many Xboxes sell.
"which doesn't ordinarily engage in the monthly sales merry-go-round"...
...but does when times are good! lol
@Dodoo Haha, yeah, pretty much.
@Gamer83 I don't know - I do get where you're coming from, but Titanfall and Sunset Overdrive are unproven properties. While the former is clearly prone to blow up big, it is also going to be available on the Xbox 360 and PC, so it'll be interesting to see whether it proves to the big system seller people think. And we don't really know anything about Sunset Overdrive.
I think we need to wait and see what the other Sony studios have in store first. Uncharted is a system seller in my opinion - and word is that the game Sony Santa Monica is working on is going to be massive. We'll have to wait and see. You're right, though - some kind of Grand Theft Auto exclusive would be huge. It would also be prohibitively expensive.
@Shaolin
I don't know as I'd say the Xbox has a much better selection than PS4. I thought it would but then Forza 5 and Dead Rising 3, while solid games, weren't exactly mindblowing. I bought the PS4 and I really like Killzone: Shadow Fall but that too wasn't the run away success I thought it could be. The best launch games on the two new systems are cross-gen ones, Assassin's Creed IV, Need For Speed Rivals, Injustice: Gods Among Us and NBA 2K14. While not exclusive, all look and play better on the next-gen platforms so that's a plus. At least the ports weren't halfa$$ed like the ones for Wii U a year ago.
2014 is the year though... inFamous: Second Son, MLB 14 The Show, DriveClub, The Order 1886 and Uncharted 4 for PlayStation. Titanfall, Quantum Break, Halo, and Sunset Overdrive on the Xbox side. And then the mutliplats, Thief, Destiny, Metal Gear Solid Ground Zeroes. I'm looking forward to it, only thing that I'm a little disappointed by is I don't think there will be a next-gen retail copy of MGS, but I'll download it and enjoy regardless.
@get2sammyb
Yeah, it'll be expensive, I definitely understand that, but I do believe Sony needs to answer some of MS' purchases and it needs to do so with a game or two from a proven third party. Uncharted may be one of Sony's more well-known franchises now but I don't know if it's a system seller. Golden Abyss didn't exactly send Vitas flying off the shelves and the response to the Uncharted 4 announcement wasn't exactly like the one a Halo game gets. It's definitely a well-liked franchise within the PS fanbase but I'm not sure it has much appeal outside of that.
The reason why Sony didn't opt to engage with the NPD sales before was because the Xbox 360 was outselling the PS3 on a monthly basis for years.
Why would Sony engage Microsoft in a losing battle?
Sony have every right now to feel bullish. They've hammered the Xbox brand on its own patch. North America is Sony's turf now. Microsoft will contest it fiercely though but to no avail.
All those scrubs who ditched Sony in favour of Microsoft last gen don't look so smart now do they? I call them scrubs and hypos (short for hypocrites). LOL.
Nice 1 SONY Now just make sure you make loads & keep them stores stocked up(+ in the UK erm try & put more PS4 displays in Shops because i walked into 'Argos' the other day & it looked like the PS4 didn't exist i.e there was only a massive Xbox ONE display & nothing PS4 wise. So just like the PS3/X360 Gen it looks like the Xbox brand will get more shop space, YAWN) :-/
Maybe Nintendo and Sony need to team up. Sony can make consoles and Nintendo can make handhelds
@DarkwingLz that would be awesome if they did that
@DarkwingLz
Will never happen, but it would be great.
@DarkwingLz. Divine dream. I admit Nintendo software like mario galaxy was unmatched. Shame i sold my wii
@DarkwingLz lol I'm all for it, if only for licensing rights. It'd be crazy to see what they could do with each other's respective strongpoints combined into an omni-brand. Sometimes I do wish there were only one home console with every game from that gen on it made by every dev in the world, but PS and capitalism work too : P
I can say that the Xbox would explode from the lack of defense against a behemoth like that
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