PS4 Sales Beat The Xbox One’s Sales In The UK

Sales of Sony’s PS4 gaming console topped those of Microsoft’s Xbox One entertainment console in the United Kingdom.

At least, that’s according to sales numbers compiled by the Entertainment Retailers Association and cited in a new report by MCV. MCA’s numbers indicate that Sony sold 530,000 PS4 units last year. Those numbers easily hand the PS4 boasting rights as those same numbers, which were compiled using Chart-Track data, indicate that the Microsoft only sold 364,000 Xbox One consoles in the United Kingdom during that same time.

While most industry watchers believed that the PS4 would beat the Xbox One in terms of sales based on its price tag alone, a margin of 166,000 consoles likely wasn’t what they had in mind. The Xbox One costs $499, that’s just $100 more than the PS4. It’s entirely possible that many users simply decided to by the cheapest next-generation console they could. However, it’s also possible that Microsoft’s decision to withhold vital information about the way the system handled used games contributed to the large sales deficit.

In all fairness, Microsoft spent the better part of last summer attempting addressing user’s concerns. It completely revamped the system’s used game policy, allowing users to freely trade disc-based games without introducing any new complications. It also added the ability for users to play disc-based games without having to completely install them on their system. Unfortunately, in addressing the concerns of user worried about used games it also eliminated digital games sharing with family members on other consoles.

It’s worth noting that we don’t yet have any numbers indicating how well either console sold in the United States. Those numbers, which are compiled by the NPD Group aren’t due for a few weeks. Microsoft did announce that it sold 2 million Xbox One consoles in November. That announcement came about a week after Sony announced that it’d sold 2.1 million consoles in November too.  At the time, many industry watchers noted that the slight gap in sales was because the PS4 simply launched a week earlier than the Xbox One in the United States.

Regardless of who comes out on top, it’s clear that the home console market is still managing to flourish in the face of competition from Android-powered set-top boxes and video boxes like the Apple TV.