Xbox One outsells PS4 for second straight month, says NPD

Kit McDonald

Xbox One S

Data tracking firm The NPD Group announced Microsoft’s minor victory over Sony for the second month in a row with their recent report. The results were likely due to the Xbox One S that just released last month alongside the Windows 10 Anniversary Update. The upgraded and slimmer console has played a significant role in the sudden boost of hardware sales over PlayStation 4.

Venturebeat  posted a statement from Xbox marketing boss Mike Nichols:

“Thanks to our fans and their excitement for new Xbox One games and the recently launched Xbox One S — which is the only console available this holiday with built-in UHD 4K Blu-ray, 4K video streaming, and HDR for video and gaming — Xbox One was the best-selling console in the U.S. in August, according to NPD Group. In addition, we continue to see strong engagement on Xbox Live — the fastest, most reliable gaming network — with total global gaming hours on Xbox One consoles increasing 42 percent year-over-year. We’ve also received an incredible response to Xbox Design Lab, which saw millions of visits to the site and hundreds of thousands of designs created by fans. We’re excited to launch Clubs and Looking for Group on Xbox Live broadly this holiday alongside some of our biggest titles for the year, including ReCore, Forza Horizon 3, Gears of War 4 and Dead Rising 4.”

Sony is probably starting to feel the heat of Microsoft, especially after the announcement of Xbox Live’s superior social gaming network, or so the study by IHS Markit claimed.

Other than October 2015, when Halo 5: Guardians was released, Sony has outplayed Microsoft in the console sales. NPD doesn’t consider this a turning point in the battle, however. In fact, it’s more likely that once the new Xbox One S sales diminish, Sony could pull ahead once more, especially since they are preparing to release the new PlayStation 4 Pro on November 10, 2016.