Xbox One Outsold PlayStation 4 in December, Says Microsoft Exec

But Switch beat them both.
Gaming

Microsoft’s Xbox One has consistently trailed Sony’s rival PlayStation 4 in sales for the vast majority of the current console generation, which kicked off in November 2013 when both consoles launched. Every once in a great while, though, the Xbox One outsells the PlayStation 4 for a month, and December 2017 was reportedly such a month.

Recommended Videos

“Thank you to everyone who helped support [Xbox One] this holiday, [NPD Group] just reported our highest Xbox One December console share ever,” General Manager, Xbox Games Marketing Aaron Greenberg tweeted yesterday.

This being the internet, someone immediately questioned the tone of Greenberg’s tweet, interpreting it to mean PlayStation 4 or Nintendo Switch was the month’s top-selling console. And as it turns out, the fan wasn’t entirely wrong. That did not, however, mean Xbox One finished behind both consoles, as it so often has since the Switch launched in March 2017.

“Xbox outsold PS4 in December for Gen 8 consoles according to NPD data,” Greenberg responded, “while Nintendo also had a great month as Switch had most overall units.”

Seeing how far behind Sony it was falling in lifetime-to-date sales, Microsoft stopped publicly reporting Xbox One sales numbers in October 2015, so it’s unlikely the public will ever know just how many units Microsoft moved last month. In any case, the console is some tens of millions of units behind the PlayStation 4’s 73.6 million units sold as of December 31, 2017.

Meanwhile, the Nintendo Switch has much ground to make up on both consoles since it launched more than three years later. Still, Switch became the fastest-selling console in U.S. history earlier this month and has already outsold predecessor Wii U’s lifetime sales in Japan.

more news


Twinfinite is supported by our audience. When you purchase through links on our site, we may earn a small affiliate commission. Learn more
related content
Read Article Load From Last Inn Rest Causing Players to Lose Their Autosaves in Dragon’s Dogma 2
Dragon's Dogma 2 medusa gaze turning soldiers to stone
Read Article Players Are Speculating on What the GTA 6 Phone Apps Will Be
GTA 6 Fans Are Already Speculating on What Apps the Phone Will Have
Read Article The Impact Akira Toriyama Had on Gaming Can’t Be Understated
Photo of Akira Toriyama in His Office
Related Content
Read Article Load From Last Inn Rest Causing Players to Lose Their Autosaves in Dragon’s Dogma 2
Dragon's Dogma 2 medusa gaze turning soldiers to stone
Read Article Players Are Speculating on What the GTA 6 Phone Apps Will Be
GTA 6 Fans Are Already Speculating on What Apps the Phone Will Have
Read Article The Impact Akira Toriyama Had on Gaming Can’t Be Understated
Photo of Akira Toriyama in His Office
Author
Nick Santangelo
Nick has been a gamer since the 8-bit days and has been reporting on the games industry since 2011. Don't interrupt him while he's questing through an RPG or desperately clinging to hope against all reason that his Philly sports teams will win something.