PS4, Xbox One Sales Outpacing Predecessors in the UK

Probably haven't even hit their peak yet imo.

@get2sammyb This is something I point out when ever a site posts how well the PS4 is doing - especially when fanboys use this to say the Xbox 'brand' is dead. I bet MS would have been 'happy' with these sales figures prior to launch - the fact it has been more successful than the XB360 to the same point in time and has a global install base larger than the WiiU. I know its currently playing second fiddle to the PS4 in sales but its still been a 'successful' launch. I bet Sony never predicted it would prove to be so popular either and BOTH hoped they would 'match' their predecessors - especially as at the time of launch, we were in an economic crisis too.
Its sales figures like these that will guarantee a 'next' generation for both consoles. As a 'console' gamer, this is good news for me. At the end of the day though, its 'software' that will ultimately drive sales onwards. Hardware is only as good as the software it has. IF VR doesn't have 'must have' games/apps it won't be very popular - same with consoles. This is why I am disappointed more by 'studio' closures. I couldn't care less if a 'console' is made by Sony, MS or Nintendo but I do care about what games I can play on these.

So factoring in the alarming negative difference in units sold by Nintendo and the fact that the PS3 released much later than the 360 did that era (so the numbers are for a large part made up by 360s sold, especially with the PS3 being so expensive at the start), we can conclude that the console market actually isn't doing as well as we all like to think.

Then there is also the realistic possibility that gamers entered this new gen way earlier than they did back then, because last gen went on far longer than the one before, where the first Xbox just launched a couple of years earlier.

We can all bend and twist numbers the way we like, I'm more interested in the intrinsic value of these numbers... unfortunately we see a lot of copy/paste journalism these days.

@get2sammyb I meant 'happy' with the 'sales' figures overall - If MS were asked would they take the number of sales they have had prior to launch, then I expect they would have said 'yes'. The success of the PS4 and continued out-pacing of the XB1 though is obviously a cause for concern and we have seen that MS has been quite aggressive in its 'plans' and trying to increase its sales. Kinect has been removed from the 'bundle', Prices have significantly dropped, its OS has been overhauled, Backwards Compatibility has been added and even GwG is offering 4 games a month because of BC but the XB1 specific offerings have been AAA more than Indie over the past 6 months. I know they are not 'happy' about the 'trend' of sales but must be 'happy' that its out-sold its predecessor at a time of economic crisis.
There was talk prior to release of both next gen consoles about the 'timing' because of that crisis - thinking that these would be hit hardest as they are seen as 'leisure' and 'extravagant' items. Analysts thought these would struggle and people would make-do with existing hardware because of financial instability - hence MS must be 'relatively happy' that their console has outsold its predecessor but obviously know that they need to be aggressive and change their strategy too.
As far as I recall, the XB360 was the 'market leader' initially but it also had the added advantage of releasing a year earlier (over a year in the UK). The PS3 was also incredibly expensive at launch too at £425 compared to the 360's £280 launch price.

Great news. I hope both consoles keep performing well so we get lots of good games and deals like we're doing now. Both Sony and Microsoft fans benefit from this competition.

Xbox One is much more interesting now (Kinect-less, cheaper, backwards compatible) than when it launched, while PS4 has never stopped selling, with and without games. Actually, like @BAMozzy said, it's not that Xbox One is not successful, but PS4 achieved a stratospheric success right from the start, most probably because of Xbox One early mistakes: Kinect, higher price and reserved resources not available for developers.

I don't like Sony fans saying that Xbox is dead either, but that's not true anyway. And now that Kinect era is over, it is expected that Xbox One can benefit from it and get a better performance, with higher resolutions and frame rates.

@JoeBlogs
Surely it isn't dead yet, but even within Sony's highest ranks there is a huge concern that the "growth in sales" is no "growth in potential amount of consumers". The overall numbers that should show console gaming is doing so well are largely interpreted in the industry's favor and the variables I've mentioned aren't taken into account; although Sony and MS seem to be doing well, software sales are alarming.

Sony branching out into VR and MS focussing on PC have a very good reason: they themselves don't think they'll be able to sell the same amount of home consoles that were sold the last generation and therefor they need other sources of income. These numbers that are shown all over the Internet and even reached mainstream media are far from telling the entire story and with even the slightest inside knowledge you could easily debunk the stories that home console gaming is doing better than ever, because the "growth" is artificial and highly debatable; sometimes statistics do lie!

In other news Nintendo Wii U has sold less than the Atari Jaguar.

@Grawlog yeah the Jag only head avp and tempest so you are probably right.

i have both machines disapointed in indiestation psn poor service and worst free games. Xbox 1 yes had a bad start but it has alot more games xbox live way better and you keep ur free games unlike ps4. sony ripping you off

@get2sammyb difficult to say. In all honesty, I made that sentence up however....

On looking into it, the jag sold less than 450,000 lifetime^ and only 150,000 sales in the UK.

^until production ended

Game in the UK took all of the remaining stock of about 400,000 and between 98-2007 continued to sell them as a retro console for £50. So life time sales in the UK could be 550,000 for the Jaguar. Nuts.

@XBO6X Whilst I will agree that GwG is currently offering better games (in my opinion) although others may prefer the 'indies' to some AAA titles. GwG, thanks to Backwards Compatibility gives the XB1 more games every month and I believe the XB360 offerings are permanently free BUT only these and they are not exactly 'new' or 'recent' although I again prefer these to 95% of the indies but thats my preference. Live is again in my opinion better than PSN too but not by as much as it once was.

However where XB1 and PS4 are concerned BOTH PS+ and Gold are virtually identical. In BOTH cases you do NOT get to keep the games - they are playable for the duration of your membership only. You get access yo online gaming with BOTH and BOTH offer regular sales/discounts on Digital software. In some cases, Gold is required to play certain games/apps that on PS4 you do not need PS+ for.

I certainly didn't buy Gold or PS+ because of GwG or IGC. To me these offerings are a 'bonus' and whilst IGC has a 'disappointing' bonus from my perspective, its not going to make me cancel my membership. PSN may not be quite as good as Live but the difference is not that significant and barely noticeable for the majority of the time. XB1 overall as some positives over PS4 but PS4 has its positives too.I don't feel 'ripped off' by Sony even though on PS3 I didn't want or need PS+. I was paying for Gold long before they added GwG and at least IGC 'may' have a few games over the year that appeal to me.

Well we are buying consoles for ourselves. There are these special edition systems. There are children who are tech savvy who beg their parents for the systems. This is the meaning behind the numbers.