PlayStation 4 Tops US December Sales; Xbox One Wins Second Half of 2016

The NPD Group today released its initial report for December US sales, revealing how hardware sold during the month and more. Sony's PlayStation 4 was the top-selling console in the US during the month, according to VentureBeat, while the Xbox One saw strong performance as well.

A statement from Microsoft shared with GameSpot confirms that December 2016 was the "biggest month ever" for Xbox One sales in the US. Additionally, the Xbox One was the only new-generation console that showed year-over-year growth in the US during the month. Microsoft also said that the Xbox One was the best-selling console for the second half of 2016.

Additionally, Microsoft shared some further statistics about Xbox's performance

"In November and December we saw Xbox Live engagement reach an all-time high of 3.9 billion hours, up 23 percent compared to 2015 driven by fan excitement for the greatest games lineup," Xbox marketing VP Mike Nichols said. "Looking ahead, we expect 2017 to be a special year for gamers thanks to the upcoming launch of the most powerful console ever in Project Scorpio and a terrific portfolio of new games with Xbox Live support on Xbox One, Windows 10, or both."

Next week, the NPD Group will announce the top-selling games for December 2016 and presumably the full year. We'll report back with more details as they become available.