"PS4 at 5.3 million while Xbone at 3.6 million...."

Sony, after declaring that its PlayStation 4 was out-selling the Xbox One almost two-to-one in January, has confirmed that it has sold more than 5.3 million PS4s between its launch on November 15 and February 8. The Xbox One, by comparison, had sold 3 million units by the end of 2013. This is before the PS4 launches in its home country of Japan, too; once that occurs on February 22 we can expect the PS4 to surge even further ahead of the Xbox One.

The most interesting data only appears once we tally up both the raw sales figures and the two-to-one tidbit, however. We don’t have an updated sales figure from Microsoft — so, at the end of 2013, Sony had sold 4.2 million PS4s, and Microsoft had sold 3 million Xbox Ones. Then, in January, the PS4 “nearly doubled” the sales of the Xbox One, ending up at 5.3 million units by February 8. If we work backwards, this means that the Xbox One only sold around 600,000 units between January 1 and February 8, while the PS4 sold 1.1 million units.

This would put the current, estimated total at 5.3 million vs. 3.6 million — a wide gap that will only expand once the PS4 is released in Japan. The Xbox One has now released in all of its major territories, so it sales figures will now gradually decline until the next holiday season. Following the surge of sales in Japan, we wouldn’t be surprised if, come the end of March, the PS4′s total sales are more than twice that of the Xbox One.

Sony had originally forecast just five million units sold by the end of March. At this rate, we could be looking at around 10 million consoles sold by the end of the year. The Wii U, by comparison, has sold around 6 million units since its release 14 months ago. At this point, it’s fairly safe to say that the PS4 has had one of the largest console launches in history, and will probably go on to become the fastest-selling console in history (it already appears to be beating the Nintendo Wii and DS, which are probably its only rivals). Whether the PS4 (or Xbox One) will go on to rival the monumental all-time sales of the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo DS, though, remains to be seen.

http://www.extremetech.com/gaming/176816-ps4-sales-hit-5-3-million-ahead-of-japan-launch-while-xbox-one-sits-pretty-at-3-6-million

I think it's time for M$ to drop Kinect. At this rate Sony will be at 10 million by E3. People that are hoping that Titanfall or releasing in "Key territories" will save the day are delusional. Xbone will see a nice bump in March and April but after that things will normalize. They are getting slaughtered and they need to do something fast. They've lost NA and UK their only strong markets, and Sony dominates EU. All this is happening before the PS4 launches in Japan in the next 4 days.

What do you think SW? Should M$ drop Kinect and slash prices or am I wrong and they should cling to Titanfall and hope for the best during the holidays?

Hardware numbers (GAF estimates)

WiiU - 5.9 million

PS4 - 5.3 million

Xbone - 3.2 million

that's not true.

they're being generous with XBONE number.

XBONE was at 3M at the end of Dec 2013. We know XBONE january NPD is 140K. there's no way other 12 territories is more than US NPD number. So I think XBONE number is 3.3M at most

According to cboat, MS is ready to drop kinect if Titanfall doesn't move xbones. I'm pretty sure Titanfall will move some xbones but the updated UI already looks a lot more non-voice-command friendly

Both systems are doing better than anyone ever thought.

I agree, the lead is probably 2 million. There's no way the EU/Other Xbone sales surpassed January NPD figures.

That's a silly statement. There are plenty of people who knew they would sell well. I imagine you are one of the people in the camp thinking they wouldn't, and now feel stupid and have to lump everyone else in with you.. Nah mane

I think this will end very similarly to the 6th gen. Sony the WW favourite, Xbone/N64 decent in America & poor everywhere else and then there's a third console no one really talks about.

I don't feel stupid about about this at all. I'm happy they both are selling well. I'm quite sure there are many people that knew they would sell but not as fast as they are. There is no need to be a dick about it.

If MS drop the kinect I think a lot of people who already purchase The XB1 will be really piss off!

I don't really understand their thought process of how they got to 600,000 Xbone's sold in that time frame. Nonsensical extrapolation.

could we please get up to date wii u sales in the OP too please? be interesting to see the comparison.

thank you in advance.

Same thing I'm thinking. I know I'd be pissed if I paid $500 for an Xbone and Kinect and suddenly M$ dropped it. It'd be sending a horrible signal to their consumers but at the same time they have little choice. It's either they do a massive price cut with Kinect still included or they drop Kinect. Either way they are gonna lose a ton of money and with M$ investors' eyes on selling Xbone division this can't be good news for Xbone.

Yet Microsoft has made a larger profit. Just $3.7 million more, but still... more.

One reason the PS4 is selling better is due to the lower price, but the higher price has advantages as far as Microsoft is concerned. According to this site, Sony makes $19 profit for every PS4 sold as opposed to Microsoft's $29 for every Xbox One. 5.3 million times $19 = 100.7 million in Sony hardware profits, and 3.6 million times $29 = 104.4 million for Microsoft's hardware profits. So Microsoft has actually made more money on hardware alone so far. Not saying that install base doesn't matter, just interesting food for thought.

When you make quality hardware and build a track record of delivering world class exclusive gaming experiences, it's no surprise your hardware sells well.

Really only one way to do it. Have 2 SKU's

1) Xbox One w/Kinect - $500

2) Xbox One W/out Kinect - $400

Of course if they then sell the Kinect as an add on accessory in stores they would have to MSRP to at $99 in order to make the prices make sense. But then compared to the PS Camera which is ~$50, that would be a hard sell to the untrained eye.

Me personally, if Microsoft REALLY wants to make it a contest. Then make it:

1) Xbox One w/ Kinect - $449

2) Xbox One w/out Kinect - $349

Drop to these prices with TitanFall and you have yourself a boost in sales for sure.

But you're neglecting the profits Sony is making from peripherals like the PS Eye (which is selling like hot cakes and I can't seem to find them anywhere) and extra controllers. Also taking hardware alone is pretty shitty since hardware profits are not where these companies make most of their money from, it's software, and Sony is absolutely killing in that department. They have better attach rates than M$ and the next gen versions of multiplats are selling the most on PS4.

The King is back on the throne.

yeah but if they do that than developers can't really use Kinect as part of the game because than not everyone with Xb1 has a Kinect

WiiU is at 5.9 million according to good folks at GAF so PS4 will probably be outselling it either this month or next month. I'll add it to the OP.

Not trying to be contrarian, but January NPD numbers revealed that Microsoft was leading Sony in software sales, primarily from their 360 software. And as I said, the profits figures are merely food for thought. If you think I'm making concrete statements about sales to paint some absolutist view one way or the other, you are mistaken. It's just another layer of understanding for people to mull over.

Inb4 I don't play sales I play flops like Ryse

You're definitely right. I think that Microsoft at some point might have to cut their losses and try and just simply get more consoles in homes.

No way is the Xbone at 3.6 million.

They were at 3 million on Dec 31st. They sold 145k in the US for January, so they have 3.15 million if you combine the US numbers with the worldwide sell-through for last year.

That means in order for MS to have sold 3.6 million, they would have needed to sell 450k everywhere else. Even the biggest lemrat wouldn't be able to admit that the Xbone sold 450k worldwide but only 150k in the US.

Xbone is at 3.2 million worldwide.

That's ignoring peripherals, more consoles should equal more controller sales, PS eye sold out iirc, more game sales, more digital sales (especially with that strong indie line up) and PS+ subscriptions are up massively. The Xbox may have XBL Gold to sell but there was more existing users so probably isn't pulling the same amount of new subscribers than Sony has benefited from the PS4.

With the numbers Sony are pushing it's the better strategy imo.

This is the first console generation (since the PS2 / Xbox / Gamecube era) where I haven't bought all available consoles within a few months of launch.

Every console seemed to have some sort of redeeming feature that made it worth what they were charging at launch ... yes, even the $600 PS3 because I wanted backwards compatibility and the Blu-ray player.

The Xbox One just doesn't seem worth it, though. $500 is too expensive. Kinect is actually a negative ... I don't want to plug it in or put it near my TV. There aren't any multiplatform games that I'd get on the Xbox One instead of the Playstation 4. And so far, the exclusives I'm interested in (Forza 5, Dead Rising 3) aren't worth the jump yet.

I should mention that Forza 5 is a pretty large disappointment for me. Forza 3 and 4 were massive, feature rich games. Forza 5 doesn't even have the Nurburgring.

I don't think that'd make sense. You need a difference to incentivise the purchase of the $500 bundle to offer a saving by buying the Kinect with the console day 1. Something like $420 for the Kinectless bundle would make sense.

You'd lose the effect that having the Xbox at the same price as the PS4 has though so you could maybe have the Kinect at $110/120 instead to compensate.

Okay I see where you're coming from. Honestly I think M$ would rather be raking in more money software from Xbone than 360 at this point in time. Especially when you look at the disappointing hardware numbers from 360 in January. It seems the PS3 and 360 are reaching saturation point. I think Sony's strategy is healthier for the long term. If I was M$ I'd drop Kinect and do some aggressive price cuts. Getting more Xbones into people's home at the start of the gen is more important than any perceived hardware profits they'll get.

I would certainly be interested in seeing sales figures for the two console's peripherals.

@WadeFan: Agreed. Perosnally, I think they should just take the freaking hit drop it to $390 with Kinect. Titanfall will help, but this is so similar to the PS3 in terms of if you do a price drop and have the compelling software, you'll slowly get back in the game. Also I think the Jan bump for PS4 was partially due to the back-fill finally being filled. But we shall see. Overall though the more expensive product is going to struggle against the cheaper one until they hit a sweet spot price wise and "that" must play game hits. I think MS is concerned, but far from in crisis mode. A price drop, hit all territories with features enabled and just hammer the software front with exclusives.

Exactly.

Yes it make alot of sense but somehow I just don't see it happened! We all know MS mind is into control your living room rather than just gaming. without Kinect comes with every XB1 I don't think that will work out like their planed. I can see they will make a new SKU that is digital only without Blu-Ray drive and lower the price!

cheers man. i'm shocked the wii u has sold that much.

Isn't the Kinect like $130 according to MS themselves? They could do $400 w/o and leave it at $500 with kinect and sell the kinect standalone for $130 or so, making the $500 sku still look like a deal.

According to teardowns estimates, despite having a weaker GPU and slower memory, the xbone APU still costs more to produce than the PS4 apu. I don't know how they managed that

My mistake, I thought a teardown revealed it to be around $80. So if it's $130, then yeah, you're right then.

50% more power, 50% more sold consoles!

Its so early, 3 months almost, these numbers really dont mean a whole heck of a lot as much as everyone is making it sound. Both were successful launches and right now both are doing well.

They need to bite the bullet/cost and drop the price while including Kinect.

Michael Pachter stated that he thinks MS will do this and that they wouldn't be able to catch Sony if they didn't. But it's Pachter so................

Even if they did drop the Kinect and lowered the price by 100$ it's still not as good a machine as the PS 4 for the same price. Not to mention it's harder to develop for and when it comes to exclusives MS isn't known for bringing the games. They're not going to be able to pay off publishers like they did with Titian Fall to keep it on the one, Sony has too much of the market share now.

Both are doing well, as I stated before, maybe not on this forum. 5.3 million is great and so is 3.6. But most on this forum need to realize that the ps4 is out in x3 of the countries compared to the xbox. Unless something changed and I didn't know about it.

Microsoft would be silly to introduce a sku without the Kinect. The key is to release games that use it, so they can illuminate their competitve advantage. I've said it many times, but its short sighted to think you're only competing against Sony. Apple and Amazon are looming. I'm sure that Microsoft is pleased with their sales and don't mind dropping the price later in the year. Sonys own projections were to sell 4M by March. Now it looks like both companies are going to exceed this number. TitanFall will have an effect, as will the first round of games that use the Kinect. Also, MS is in a financial position to drop the price at anytime if they really wanted to "keep up with the PS4". They are playing business wars, not SW.

I see a lot of people saying that kinect should be dropped but when kinect was first introduced lems acted like it was the holy grail. I highly doubt that m4$ will drop kinect,Its basically part of the the x1, or do a price drop this early in the gen.plus kinect is not its biggest problem, its M$ and its policy that turned be off at E3 along with the price... Lems seem more desperate than M$ at this point.

Honestly, why would Microsoft have a price drop for Xbone? It's doing good for it's price and it's making profit for Microsoft.

Lemmings only want a price drop so they can win sales argument with Cows.

Ps4 sold 67% more consoles compared to the Xbox Ones number.

And that's with 3.6 million consoles being generous.

doesnt seem like it, they'll probably get cocky like 3 years in and they see that they are still ahead.

Remember, WiiU is dead in the water, they'll out sell the WiiU probably in the next 3 months, all they have to do is stay ahead of M$ and they'll be winning the Console sales war this gen. Hooray for sales!!!!

But who cares, the only reason to pay attention to this is just to see how they come so far from almost dying off in 2006, to making their toughest competitor (M$) their bitch in hardware, sells, Online Network, consumer base, First party, and proving that they can handle anything that comes at them.

Also more PS4 sells, more potential VITA consumers.

wouldn't you say that the XB1 is already out in its strongest markets though? What difference are these Tier 2/3 territories really going to have on sales?

For the longest time MS sold the stand alone Kinect for $149, and if the Kinect was packaged with the 360 it was only a $99 difference.

I would bet they will go that same route if they do decide to offer a Kinect-less SKU. Which personally I think is inevitable at this point. So probably a $399 Kinect-less SKU.

Also I don't think the PS4 will gain any more ground (well no more than it is already doing). We have to assume at the moment Sony is selling every PS4 it has and not holding any back (would be stupid if they are), so 1 - 2 weeks after the Japan launch I think there will be little to no PS4's arriving anywhere else in the world.

They will continue shipping their close to 1 million PS4's a month (I think the average they are shipping world wide at the moment is roughly ~260K every week including the launch window and assuming they were producing PS4's almost 2 months before release in October), we have no idea when they actually started producing these of if their production got sped up some how, but we have to assume they needed at least 6 - 8 weeks from when they they supposedly ordered some components.

So I assume all they can possibly produce is ~250k every week maybe slightly more but not by much. If they can it would surprise me, I think Sony were not really expecting this level of sales, I was half expecting them to move the Japan launch back a few weeks. They can't ship what they don't have...

3.6 mill...where the **** did they pull those numbers from? jeez might as well have quoted vgchartz. no way xbox sells more in other regions than us combined unless it was uk.