Microsoft announces that its Xbox One console was the best selling console in November, putting an end to Sony’s PlayStation 4’s year long spot at number one.
According to NPD Group Data, the Xbox One was the number one selling console in the United States and United Kingdom in November.
Microsoft’s price cuts have proven to be a success in helping the company better compete with Sony in the current next-generation console war.
NPD also said that hardware unit-sales were up three percent over last November – when the Xbox One and PS4 launched. Compared to sales of the Xbox 360 and PlayStation 3 in their first 13 months sales are up 80 percent.
A major factor in the higher sales figures were Microsoft and Sony’s console bundles. One bundle in particular (which was unnamed) has been reported as the best-selling ever based on dollar sales.
The Xbox One bundles, along with the price cut, really helped Microsoft sell more consoles.
Microsoft’s Mike Nichols, corporate VP of Xbox marketing, wrote in a statement:
“We are committed to making Xbox the best place to play, with this year’s best games, the best community of gamers to play with, and terrific value. And we are amazed by the excitement Xbox fans have shown to start off this holiday. November set a new record for sales of Xbox One, and Xbox One was the best-selling console in the US and UK.”
“Response to the holiday lineup of games on Xbox One was incredible, with Xbox One fans buying more games in November in the U.S. than any other gen eight platform and enjoying over 357 million hours of gameplay globally. In fact, more fans logged into Xbox Live across Xbox One and Xbox 360, and enjoyed more entertainment, than any other month in the history of Xbox. We love to see the excitement from our fans and are grateful for their passion, support and contributions to the Xbox community.”
The NPD Group’s Liam Callahan wrote:
“While the majority of the decrease in dollar sales of hardware stemmed from an expected drop of seventh generation console sales, eighth generation sales also decreased and represented 38 percent of the total declines in hardware sales from November 2013 to November 2014.”