For the first time since this past October, Microsoft’s Xbox One outpaced Sony’s Playstation 4 for U.S. console sales in July, breaking Sony’s eight-month win streak.
“We’re honored that Xbox One was the best-selling console in the U.S. in July, and that total gaming hours on Xbox consoles globally were up 18 percent over last year, reaching 1.55 billion hours,” Microsoft Corporate Vice President MIke Nichols said in a statement. “These results followed an exciting E3 where we showcased an exceptional lineup of new games, new devices and enhancements to Xbox Live shipping to Xbox fans over the next year.”
Aaron Greenberg, head of Xbox Games, tweeted that it’s “nice to be back on top!”
Thanks to everyone who helped make #XboxOne the #1 selling console in July according to #NPD, nice to be back on top!
— Aaron Greenberg (@aarongreenberg) August 11, 2016
The PS4 has outpaced the Xbox One for U.S. console sales since both devices debuted in November 2013. The Xbox One outsold Sony this past October, but Sony beat Microsoft for the five months before that.
Sony announced in May that sales of its PS4 eclipsed 40 million.
Microsoft hasn’t reported sales data for the past several months and is no longer disclosing Xbox unit sales as part of its quarterly earnings reports. But CNET noted in May that Sony has a substantial lead — nearly 2X — in the console battle.
Microsoft this month unveiled a more compact and redesigned version of the Xbox One, called the Xbox One S, that hit store shelves on Aug. 2. It will also sell a more powerful version, called Project Scorpio, in time for the 2017 holiday season. Microsoft has been aggressively discounting Xbox One hardware in advance of Xbox One S console, which may have contributed to the July win over Sony.
Sony is also working on an improved version of the PS4.
As part of its quarterly earnings report last month, Microsoft said gaming revenue decreased $152 million, or 9 percent, to $1.53 billion. That was primarily due to a decline of 33 percent in Xbox hardware revenue, which the company attributed to “a decline in consoles sold and lower prices of consoles sold.”
Source : www.geekwire.com
