This post has been updated with a statement from Sony.
The Xbox One continues its good run, but the PlayStation comes back out on top.
Microsoft had a nice holiday season, beating out Sony’s PlayStation 4 as the best-selling console in the U.S. in both November and December, breaking an almost year-long stretch for Sony. A $50 price cut brought the Xbox One just enough of an edge over the competition to stay on top for the holiday season, making the system a top player in the $3.25 billion in spending that the end of 2014 saw. And while the company says that it hit record sales in January with the Xbox One, it doesn’t necessarily claim the top spot in its latest statement, which released just ahead of The NPD Group’s January report.
Microsoft said it had more game sales per console than any other platform in January. Xbox Live also had a good month — company data shows a 22 percent grown in gamers and hours compared to Jan. 2014.
From the statement that came from Xbox marketing vice president Mike Nichols, it sounds like the special U.S.-only $349 price is going to lead the company’s charge into 2015. He points to upcoming games such as Halo 5: Guardians, Forza Motorsport 6, Fable Legends, Evole, and The Witcher 3: Wild Hunt fuel for “another amazing year for Xbox fans.”
Sony’s statement says that the PlayStation 4 retakes its place as the top selling console in January, and that the system remains the cumulative leader in the U.S. console market. NPD data shows that 18.5 million PS4 units and 81.8 million software units have been sold worldwide since the system’s Nov. 2013 launch.