Well, it’s the moment that we’ve all been waiting for: the PlayStation 4’s long-running sales winning streak in the United States has finally come to an end. Sony’s next-gen system had been on top every month of the year so far, but extremely low priced bundles from Microsoft have pushed the Xbox One ahead in November for the first time since December 2013. The word on the street, however, is that it was a photo finish, with the Japanese giant almost pulling a surprise victory out of the bag. [Update: Or perhaps not!]
Without the official numbers from either of the hardware manufacturers, though, it’s impossible to say for sure, so we’ll stick with the facts. Cumulative sales of both the PS4 and Xbox One are up 80 per cent compared to the combined sales of the PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 at the same points in their lifespans, meaning that any nonsense about games consoles going out of fashion can finally be put to bed. Furthermore, the overall industry spend is currently up by two per cent year-over-year.
However, in November, total sales for hardware, software, and accessories were down 11 per cent, tallying $2.41 billion. Hardware sales saw the biggest fall, down 23 per cent from $1.31 billion in 2013 to just $1.10 billion. This is likely due to heavy hardware price cuts, but it’s also worth remembering that both the PS4 and Xbox One enjoyed record breaking launches last year. Software sales were also down marginally to $1.06 billion, but accessory sales actually rose by two per cent, hitting $331.2 million.
Unsurprisingly, the top selling game for the month was Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare, which incredibly performed best on the Xbox 360. Grand Theft Auto V finished in second, following its recent PS4 re-release. Elsewhere, Madden NFL 15, Far Cry 4, NBA 2K15, and Assassin’s Creed Unity all rounded out the top ten. There’s no word on LittleBigPlanet 3’s performance just yet, which was Sony’s big release for the month.
In fact, at the time of typing, the platform holder’s yet to provide a statement, but we suspect that it always knew that it was going to be tough to usurp an outrageously cheap Xbox One at full price. It’ll be interesting to see how close the two devices were, as speculation suggests that it was tighter than the price differences may lead you to believe, but without access to the data, we can’t be sure. Either way, it’s nice to have a bit of variety in the sales charts – we were getting tired of the PS4’s constant success.
Update: Geek Wire's reporting that Microsoft sold 1.2 million Xbox One consoles in the United States in November, suggesting that this wasn't as close as early speculation had indicated. Your move, Sony.
Top Ten Physical Retail Releases: November 2014
1. Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (360, XBO, PS4, PS3, PC)
2. Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3)
3. Super Smash Bros. (NWU, 3DS)
4. Madden NFL 15 (360, XBO, PS4, PS3)
5. Pokemon Alpha Sapphire (3DS)
6. Far Cry 4 (PS4, XBO, 360, PS3, PC)
7. Pokemon Omega Ruby (3DS)
8. NBA 2K15 (PS4, 360, XBO, PS3, PC)
9. Assassin's Creed: Unity (PS4, XBO, PC)
10. Halo: The Master Chief Collection (XBO)
[source venturebeat.com, via neogaf.com]
Comments 57
Upsetting to see that Dragon Age Inquisition didn't make it into the top 10, but that said, that's one heck of a blockbuster chart.
@ShogunRok It's not done outstanding in the UK either, to be honest. I think Dragon Age II may have hurt the brand a bit, but it should pick up on the basis of strong word of mouth. Like you say, it was a tough top ten to break.
Dragon Age ordered for christmas. Surely that will help land it at No. 10
Dang, a pretty studly chart there.
I was pretty much expecting Xbox to win this month, what with the bundles and prices, as well as the fact that it always comes across as a family console of a sort, more than Nintendo systems, which is very hard to believe but seems apt given the all purpose thing.
But oh well. 11 months is a pretty good mark.
It seems xbox one also won in UK last month as well. According to Microsoft at least.
No need to be sad KING'GOD'KAZ The PS4 is winning Worldwide by sh*t-loads more + Rumors are that the PS4 only lost by 7 to 10K last month in the U.S.of.A?!(not that i believe 99% of what i read online) If so then i was right SONY should of done a pre-Black Friday PS4 Bundle with say 1 free game & that would of won them last month. Oh well i just hope SONY USA don't get back into their dreadful PS3 days of not even taking on MS in the USA. Will see.
Comes at no surprise to me due to those bundles (which you pointed out). Microsoft had some awesome deals going on during November for the Xbox One. In fact, I almost purchased one, but refrained from doing so due to financial constraints. And like you said, I actually think it's good to see this. A balance is needed in the competition between Sony and Microsoft, much like how the Light Side must balance out the Dark Side in the Star Wars universe...what? I'm not making explicit parallels here.
Not trying to sound fan-boyish but I wonder what percent of those owners felt they got the wrong console after watching Playstation Experience? Besides if it was truly a photo finish Sony still won in the money they made vs what Xbone had to sell at a loss just to push consoles right
On another note, that Smash Bros being in 3rd though
Shame about dragon age, although, as far as I could see, there was no advertising whatsoever. Probably my favourite game after Shenmue.
I've updated the article with new information. Sounds like Microsoft sold 1.2 million Xbox One consoles, which suggests that this wasn't anywhere near as close as initial speculation had suggested.
I guess the question now is: what does Sony do next? It's been countering every price drop Microsoft makes in the UK, but it's been less aggressive in the States. How much does that US market share matter? I think we're going to find out soon.
I wonder how many of those that bought an Xbox One last month already own a PS4?
@get2sammyb I still dont see Sony making any drastic moves yet, not after PS X. Had the PS Experience happened in November I doubt XboxOne would have sold more wven with the bundles. With that Uncharted 4 demo everyone will want to own PS4 and MS has yet to show anything that has that " must own this console foe that game " feel to it. Plus The Order and Bloodborne are mere months away.
This is an honest question: What notable gamws are coming out on XboxOne between now and Arkham Knight in June?
@Tasuki I'm sure there are a fair few, but I wonder if it would be a significant sample? I imagine most people are happy with one console - especially when PS4 and Xbox One's libraries are largely identical.
I have to imagine that the Wii U benefits best from second purchase syndrome, as that has a very unique catalogue. I dunno - maybe I'm just spewing rubbish!
XBO killed PS4 in the US in Nov and it is no surprise. MS did great bundles and declared a price war. Sony ignored them and continued on its merry way. They did not compete. Dec will fair a little better, but I predict XBO will win again, unless Sony comes up with something. MS's $349 bundles (especially Assassins Creed) are ruling the roost. I would guess they are actually losing money on them, but they needed something to gain momentum and they have got it.
PS4 is still selling well and outselling XBO worldwide, so perhaps Sony is content just to wait it out, knowing that all it's big hitting exclusives are in 2015. Don't know. Their GTAV/TLOU bundle actually sold out of stock as well, which is just terrible planning for one of the biggest weekend of the year, and would not have helped. They seem to not really be on the case at the moment. Resting on their laurels a bit from my perspective.
Never underestimate MS. They will not go away or give up.
Was to be expected but dear me M$ didn't half sell a lot of their grannies to do it. I doubt they would keep it up cos they don't seem to have anything coming of significance for nearly half a year now.
@Ginkgo Perhaps they simply couldn't manufacture anymore bundles for Black Friday? One must remember that the PS4 is a hot product globally, so I suspect they're having to ship more units into Europe and Asia than Microsoft.
I'm not sure how the manufacturing aspect works to be honest. Is it easy to ramp up production?
@get2sammyb Having worked in a corporate/manufacturing environment for many year (though not gaming related so different). I would say the following.
It is generally not that hard to ramp up manufacturing assuming that the raw materials (e.g. DDR5 memory) are available. That's not the main challenge, because you have internal in control over it. I assume that not all their factories are still running at 100% capacity at the moment, like they were at launch.
The real challenge is the pipeline from Sony to the stores. All of the displays, promotions, orders, shipping etc is planned months in advance and are part of negotiations and marketing fees. Sony has to pay to put their stock in store, promote etc. Shelf space costs. So even if they can build it, getting it distributed to all the stores takes time. That is the harder part and is not easy to adjust quickly.
But, that is why I said poor planning. They seem to have grossly underestimated their biggest selling item during the second biggest weekend of the year, when being spanked in sales by their closest competitor. Its just a fail.
My other comments previously, is that when they saw what MS have done, their easiest fix was to compete on price and drop their prices to match. That would cost them money, but very doable in a short space of time. They chose not to get into the price war and held their price. It is perhaps that the wider company needs the profit from PS4 at the moment, and could afford to sell at a loss, which is what I expect MS is doing.
In any case, it is interesting to watch and it has given MS a foothold to continue to improve and win back the US market.
@Ginkgo I just wonder, though, would dropping the price have achieved anything other than losing money - especially if their pipeline was already determined? After all, they sold out at $399, so I assume they would have sold out quicker at $349. However, the numbers would have been the same?
@get2sammyb: I don't know with some of the known exclusive like Rise of the Tomb Raider I can see some people who bought a PS4 at launch buying an Box One now especially with the crazy deals.
Sony should have known the lower price of the xbox was going to hurt then slightly. They should have had the playstation experience a week before black friday.
@Tasuki Its a timed exclusive so it will come out on playstation and probebly pc after it launches on xbox
Not surprising considering they were practically giving them away. Target had the bundle with assassins creed unity and black flag for $329 and you got a $50 gift card. I almost bought one myself and I am not a Xbox fan after having my 360 break 5 times in 3 years.
@Ps4all Red ring?
@get2sammyb no love for vita where are the best games to shine
Everyone got their PS4s last Christmas... Now they're getting their Xbox Ones.
I'm glad xbox one got a win finally I think Microsoft have been pulling out all the right moves lately to try and get xbox one out there and at the moment it has some good games I can't get on playstation so I think it deserves this one right now
@shoguns @get2sammyb @Bad-MuthaAdebisi to be honest brilliant as it is I'd be surprised to see Dragon Age place any better than that over here at this time of year. Most of the ill informed general public couldn't give a hoot, and at Christmas time especially it's going to have more of a hard time, with so many people out blindly buying their kids the next COD instead. It'll do well with the core gamer market, but I doubt even winning goty will make it a commercial hit - how many casual gamers do you think really bothered watching the awards?
Like I said before. This is a shallow victory. If the Xbone had sold this amount of consoles based upon its original price and package then I would be impressed, but I am not. Yes I know both sides had "price cuts" for Black Friday but the Xbone has had numerous price cuts in the past 12 months. Plus, the Xbone is easy to shift in the UK because if you ask a parent if their child has a console they have no idea what you are talking about but if you ask if they have an Xbox they become experts instantly! Anyway why should we really care? I am happy with my PS4 and Sony have seen a better start than the PS3!
Like I said last month, I was surprised that Sony let MS take the lead. MS were very aggressive and Sony just rested on their laurels.
However (quoting the supremely reliable VGChartz) Sony outsold MS globally for November so really that's what matters most...
I don't think this will bother sony after all it's only 1 month out of 12 sony has already established the PS4 as the goto next gen system plus that's only the US sales world wide the PS4 is still well on top
All I can say is congratulations Microsoft, I am a playstation fanboy but the way I look at it is tough competition keeps the competitors on their toes which is a good thing for gamers in the long run
@get2sammyb Yea I agree that not many of the sales will be people buying a second console. Of course some of them will be but the majority of people buy just one console.
MS winning is definitely a good thing for all us gamers. Keep everyone on their toes. Sony didn't need a price cut. Sony needs to continue down its own path. Looking at its own sales, promotion slots, game releases etc. Yes MS are its main competition but the PS4 is proving itself on its own. Sony needs to continue to focus on making the PS4 a great product - games, features etc.
Price cut when it's a good time for PS4 to price cut. Run promotions when its a good time for PS4 to run promotions. Things go very wrong very quickly when companies allow competition to dictate their strategies.
@SteveButler2210 I think the parents would still have to be blind to get their kids DA:I though.
@SKC_Diamond red ring 3 times, once it stopped playing DVDs and the final issue was the video cut out.
@eLarkos Good post. I agree with all of that.
Unity should not be that high, it will only encourage Ubisoft to release more unfinished games. My only hope is that a lot of those sales have to do with the Xbox bundle.
I wouldn't buy a Xbone if it was only a $100. To me the Xbox 360 was the worst gaming purchase I ever made. If it wasn't for my damn kids it would be long gone.
I will buy a PS4 when Gran Turismo 7 comes out - until then still loving my PS3 and in my opinion right now the Wii U Rules Supreme.
"Well, it’s the moment that we’ve all been waiting for." Correction, it the moment you've been waiting for........for some reason.
The XB1 is actually a pretty good console.. it doesn't seem to run hot EVER (I've had it since last December) and I'd assume that's due to its massive size and the gigantic fan on the top of the system. You guys who keep a closed mind miss out on Forza which is a 10/10 for me, just brilliant. That said PS4 is the slightly superior system in my opinion so I suppose if you happen to be close minded you''ve chosen the right system to be close minded with lol. I haven't gotten Dragon Age yet but I am quite upset it didn't make top 10.. this gen needs more RPG tittles and I'd like costumers to give the industry more insensitive to create them. I personally bought farcry over it so I'm not helping the cause I will definitely be purchasing after Christmas.
@BLPs You don't want me to report on this stuff?
@freaksloan my xb1 only cost me £100 brand new, came with Forza 5 and Titanfall too but I wouldn't have brought it if it wasn't so cheap because at the moment the OS is a mess and not very user friendly plus it seems everytime I try do do something on it it has to bloody update it's worse than the amount of updates the PS3 used to get in it's first years
not to mention the controller STILL dorsn't have a built in battery so you have to spend £30 on a plug and play kit (or do whst I did and use my DS4 charging cable as it fits the XB1 controller too)
@ZeD not really sure what you mean by "numerous" price cuts lol.. they stopped selling kinect with the xbox one and so the kinectless version started selling at 399 instead of 499 while the kinect version still sold for 499... and then last month they had their first official price cut and a temporary one at that.. it ends in January. So please.. enough with the exaggerating.
@mitcHELLspawn I have seen a few price cuts on the Base model here in the UK. Not sure about global price cuts but there have been a few in different stores. Numerous (more than one) is not an exaggeration as it is true for around me. I will give Ms credit for listening to their players though. Instead of sticking with one plan they have changed! Look back at E3 2013 for example
@freaksloan you're missing out man! At the moment I play my Xbox one more than my ps4. I kind of go back and forth. In the new year I'll definitely be playing my ps4 more but personally I find the xbox one to have a much better operating system and for everything I do with my consoles other than gaming xbox is my goto console. I wish Sony would do an overhaul on their OS so bad.
this is the beginning of the end
@eliotgballade lol yeah really though that's how some people are reacting it scares the crap out of them. Playstation is in a great position especially with Sony finally realizing that the Playstation brand is pretty much their best asset. It's awesome to see them finally acknowledging it. We're going to see some great things with them doubling down on the brand and shifting more money their way. I can't wait for project morpheus.. and I really believe they're going to go for it. Did anyone else watch the panel on VR at Playstation experience ? Got me so damn excited.
@get2sammyb @Ginkgo - That was a nice little exchange you two had. (I wish Gingko was on NL explaining how adapters and amiibo can't just materialize out of thin air).
While Sony is probably annoyed to come in 2nd for a month I'd like to think their top brass don't care what MS does as long as they hit their #'s, If PS4 sold more in Nov than Oct, and sold what they expected, w/o their having to do a price cut, why should they care what MS or Nintendo did? It's not a popularity contest, it's a financial enterprise. As Sammy said, if they sell every PS4 they can make at the current price, what difference does X1 or Wii U sales make?
Everything sells over the holidays, Jan, Feb, March are the momentum months that matter.
Xbox One BOO!!! PS4 F*** YEAH!!! Did I do good you guys?
@rjejr Are you suggesting that companies don't track/care what their competitors do, or use market share % as one of their key metrics? I can assure you that they do, and guard market share religiously.
I have seen a company (wont name) that continually sold an entire product range at a loss for years, just to take up shelf space and therefore prevent it's competitor from selling their products in store (shelf space is limited and vied for). Hence guard market share. Better to make a loss, but keep the competitor out. Trust me! Market share is a key metric and they care.
I agree that Sony won't be devastated with their Nov sales and they may even have hit their internal targets. But in hind sight, they planned poorly, sold out of their best selling item, and were clearly outsold by their strongest competitor.
MS did a much better job and hats off to them. They have really started turning things around since Phil Spenser has taken over, and I just wonder if Sony is resting on its laurels a little.
I'm clearly Sony biased (a PS4 fan), but trying to be a reasonably objective observer, just commenting on what I see happening in the market. Which is something that I enjoy tracking. At this point MS is out-playing Sony and winning back market share in the US and UK. If I was a Sony exec, I wouldn't be pleased. Phil Spenser will be grinning from ear to ear and rightly so.
LOL!
Microsoft sure took their time in getting more sales, in a month. nearly a whole year outselling the xbox 1 is pretty darn good going for sony with the ps4.
@ShoryukenKid absolutely none of them. PS experience was trash.
@Ginkgo - "and guard market share religiously."
But money still comes first, otherwise it's a race to the bottom and you wind up out of business like so many PC manufacturing companies and retailers that sold them. Apple never tried to undersell any PC manufacturer and try to push Mac OS over Windows by selling it cheaper.
Unless Sony HQ is under a very big rock they had to know X1 would outsell PS4 w/ that $50 price cut in Nov. They could have matched it or gone lower and taken a greater loss to sell more, or they could have decided to take the money now and wait to see what MS does in Jan when the price is supposed to go back up.
At this point in time, w/ PS4 leading X1 and Wii U in worldwide sales by about 5 million, I think Sony decided $ > market share. And as Sammy said, if Sony were already selling every PS4 they could make, why lower the price?
Not having enough stock on hand I'm guessing is due in part to PS4 outselling X1 by 5 mil over the previous 12 months. I just can't imagine that after the PS3 and Xbox360 each sold 6 mil their first year that Sony thought they would need more than 15 mil consoles by holiday 2014. I'm impressed they've been able to make this many w/o numerous quality control issues.
I just don't think Sony is able or willing to do all that much about a 1 month blip. If The Order is any good it should be business as usual after Feb 1. It will be hard for MS to promote it's Fantasy Football machine once the Superbowl is over.
@Madd_Hatter401
Insensitive costumers? You lost me there
@Fandabidozi lol I meant incentive haha damn HTC phone.
Couldn't wait any longer bought Dragon Age last night seems awesome so far.
@Madd_Hatter401
I'll play Dragon Age one day, I think it'll be my cup o tea, it looks great. I'm still playing thru Mass Effect, Uncharted and FFXIII. WoW has a lot to answer for, it's left me with a lot of catching up to do in other games.
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