Sony has had a dominant 2015, and this success has continued through the summer.
The PlayStation 4 outsold its console competition in August, according to data from industry-tracking firm The NPD Group that Sony shared with GamesBeat. This means that the PS4 has outsold the Xbox One and Wii U every single month this year except for April, which is when Microsoft’s console managed to pull out a win.
Here’s Sony’s full statement:
“We would like to thank our fans and partners for their ongoing support of PlayStation and for making PS4 the top-selling console and No. 1 in software sales in North America in August. We continue to demonstrate our commitment to delivering the best content line-up with the launch of first-party exclusives like Until Dawn and third-party titles like Madden NFL 16, which sold more on PS4 than any other platform. In August we also saw the most successful beta in PS4 history with Call of Duty: Black Ops III, marking a significant milestone in our new partnership with Activision. We look forward to furthering momentum with the launch of Destiny: The Taken King next week.”
Sony’s repeated success comes despite a lack of notable exclusives for the PlayStation 4. Instead, consumers seem excited about the system as a destination to play major third-party releases like Batman: Arkham Knight, Madden NFL 15, and Metal Gear Solid V: The Phantom Pain.
But none of this means that the Xbox One isn’t selling well. Microsoft provided GamesBeat with a confirmation that the system continues to sell better than it did last year.
“Xbox One continued to gain momentum in August, with sales in the U.S. up 26 percent over August 2014,” Xbox marketing boss Mike Nichols said in a statement.
With both systems selling well — and Sony maintaining a healthy lead — gamers should expect to see the two companies offering a number of deals as we head into the holidays. Xbox One has already dropped in price to $350 for the 500GB unit that typically comes with a game. Sony has done its best to counter that with enticing PS4 bundles for releases like the aforementioned Batman. Sony will keep doing that with upcoming games like Destiny: The Taken King and Star Wars: Battlefront.
Nintendo, meanwhile, has not shared its hardware data for the Wii U, but it will also try to get consumers excited starting tomorrow with the release of a bundle that includes the delightful Super Mario Maker.