Microsoft has said Xbox One sales have outpaced PS4 sales since the company dropped the console’s price on Nov. 2. The Xbox One price drop reduced the console’s price by $50 and brought down the pricing for all Xbox One bundles by $50 as well.
Yusuf Mehdi, Microsoft’s Corporate VP of Devices and Studios, announced that “Xbox One sales in the U.S. have more than tripled” compared to the previous week before the console had gotten its $50 holiday discount. Mehdi also said Xbox One sales have outpaced PS4 sales during that same two-week period.
News of the Xbox One sales increase comes at a crucial time for Microsoft. Both the Xbox One and competing PlayStation 4 are celebrating their first anniversary, with Microsoft going on the offensive with a slew of platform-exclusive games, increased advertising and the aforementioned Xbox One price drop.
However, the company still lags far behind Sony in the overall PS4 vs Xbox One sales battle. Sony has sold well north of 10 million PS4 units to consumers, whereas Mehdi said Microsoft “shortly … will have sold in to retailers more than 10 million Xbox One consoles.” Selling into retailers does not necessarily mean 10 million units have found their way into consumers’ hands.
Microsoft is no doubt encouraged that the price drop has had the intended impact on sales. Selling more Xbox One consoles than Sony sold PS4 consoles during a two-week period is the first time in the console’s young life that’s happened. The sales increase comes at a time when Microsoft is launching exclusive first-party games such as Halo: The Master Chief Collection and Sunset Overdrive. The company obviously hopes this one-two punch will generate some sales momentum going into Black Friday 2014.
In spite of its two-week sales success, Microsoft still found itself in second place for the month of October. According to NPD Group, Sony’s PS4 outsold the Xbox One in October.
Interestingly, the only first-party exclusive console game to crack NPD’s top 10 game sales for October was Sunset Overdrive. All other best-selling console titles appeared on both PS4 and Xbox One. Nintendo’s Super Smash Bros. for the 3DS was the best-selling platform-exclusive game in October. (Speaking of which, have you entered our free contest to win Super Smash Bros. for 3DS?)