14 DAY TRIAL // The NPD Group announces that the PlayStation 4 home console from Sony has managed to once again top the hardware sales chart for the United States market in the month of October, defeating the Xbox One from Microsoft once more.
At the moment, the organization no longer offers actual sales numbers for the devices, and so far, neither of the two console manufacturers talked about their results.
Liam Callahan, an analyst working for the NPD Group, is quoted by VG247 as saying that “October 2014 marks the first 12 months of sales for the Xbox One and PS4; and after the first year, these consoles have had a great start as cumulative sales are currently over 70% higher than the combined first year totals of Xbox 360 and PS3.”
At the same time, the company claims that overall console sales have increased by 18 percent when compared to October of last year.
Moreover, Nintendo claims that sales of the Wii U in the United States have grown when compared to the same month in 2013 by 74%, while video game sales increased by 84 percent.
Total hardware spending is also increasing and accessories for the new consoles are more sought after by customers.
But because software has declined significantly, the industry as a whole did not progress too much and in the long term might actually post a decrease in the overall value of sales.
Xbox One and PlayStation 4 will battle for the Christmas crown
The October numbers, however, might be no longer relevant because Microsoft has taken off another 50 dollars (37.5 Euro) from the price of the Xbox One in the United States for the coming two-month period and claims that the measure has led to a tripling of the actual sales.
The company also says that it is close to reaching the 10 million units moved to retailers mark.
It will be interesting to see whether the price cut has only generated short-term interest or whether it has the power to move the Xbox One ahead of the PlayStation 4 for the crucial Christmas period.
Both Sony and Microsoft are expected to announce some new hardware bundles in the coming weeks in order to attract the attention of potential customers.
At the same time, Nintendo is preparing for the launch of Super Smash Bros. for its home console, which is expected to give a significant long-term boost to the Wii U.
