The numbers have all been tallied and it
appears as though Sony’s PlayStation 4 has won the first battle in what will be a
long running console war. Sony recently revealed at the Consumer Electronics
Show that they sold 4.2 million PlayStation 4 consoles as of December 28, 2013
compared to just three million Xbox One systems sold by Microsoft through the
end of the year.
There are a number of factors that could
be analyzed as contributing factors to each systems' sales. Brand loyalty and
launch titles aside, price and availability are perhaps the two biggest
factors. Sony’s next generation system retails for $100 less than the Xbox One
at $399 versus $499. Microsoft’s console does include a Kinect motion sensor,
however, if that sort of thing matters to you.
The PlayStation 4 launched in North America on November 15 followed by the Xbox One a
week later on the 22nd. Hitting the market a week earlier than the competition
certainly helped Sony jump out to an early lead. As of writing, the PS4 is
available in 53 countries and territories compared to just 13 for Microsoft’s
system.
Sony may have dealt the first blow in the
next generation console war but that doesn’t really mean too much at this point
considering the battle is likely to carry on through most of the next decade.
Ultimate success will likely come down to exclusive titles, online content and
perhaps even some new features that haven’t even been conceived yet.
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