PlayStation 4 Regained Console Sale Crown In November According To NPD

by Brandon Hill — Friday, December 11, 2015, 02:40 PM EDT

Microsoft was quite ecstatic about the Xbox One’s October sales win; the first time in many months that it had overtaken the long-time sales champ: the PlayStation 4. However, Microsoft had some big league help during the month of October thanks to the release of Halo 5: Guardians.

But it appears that Microsoft’s victory lap has been cut short. According to new numbers released by NPD, Sony’s PlayStation 4 snatched the sales crown back from Microsoft for the month of November. Not even Halo 5 could save the Xbox One this time around, and platform-exclusive Rise of The Tomb Raider was of no help either. So in essence, October was more of a fluke than anything else in the grand scheme of things.

The month of November was dominated by blockbuster titles including Star Wars Battlefront, Call of Duty: Black Ops 3, and of course, Fallout 4. All three of these titles were released on both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 — and it should come as no surprise that these new releases along with attractive holiday price cuts and Black Friday promotions made November the "best month ever" for eighth generation consoles (Xbox One, PlayStation 4, Wii U).

While Microsoft didn’t reveal sales numbers for the month of November, it was nonetheless pleased with the Xbox One’s performance. “Last month was our best November ever in the U.S. for Xbox One, setting new records for console sales, game sales and Xbox Live engagement," said Microsoft in a statement.

Although Sony didn’t comment specifically on November sales, it did reveal just before Black Friday that over 30 million PlayStation 4 consoles have been sold worldwide since it was launched in late 2013.

Although the positively killer bundle deals on the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 vanished following Black Friday and Cyber Monday, both Microsoft and Sony have temporarily cut the price of their consoles to $299.99. However, we have the feeling that Microsoft may move to make its price cut permanent in 2016 to gain the upper hand. Sony, which cut the price of the PlayStation 4 from $399.99 to $349.99 in early October, is probably in no hurry to institute another permanent price reduction.

Tags: Sony, Microsoft, NPD, ps4, xbox one

Brandon Hill

Brandon received his first PC, an IBM Aptiva 310, in 1994 and hasn’t looked back since. He cut his teeth on computer building/repair working at a mom and pop computer shop as a plucky teen in the mid 90s and went on to join AnandTech as the Senior News Editor in 1999. Brandon would later help to form DailyTech where he served as Editor-in-Chief from 2008 until 2014. Brandon is a tech geek at heart, and family members always know where to turn when they need free tech support. When he isn’t writing about the tech hardware or studying up on the latest in mobile gadgets, you’ll find him browsing forums that cater to his long-running passion: automobiles.

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