A few more numbers are coming in showing exactly how Sony managed to score such a hit on Microsoft with regards to the 2013 sales of the companies' exclusive next-gen consoles.
According to European outlet Next-Gamer, Sony's PlayStation 4 is the console to have. The outlet is reporting figures from market research company Media Control GFK that since the console's European debut in late November, the PS4 managed to outsell the Xbox One by more than twice, despite the Xbox One being available a full week earlier. According to the research firm, by the end of 2013, the PlayStation 4 was at roughly 250,000 in sales, while the Xbox One numbered only 100,000.
This would make Germany responsible for roughly 6% of the total amount of PlayStation 4's sold in 2013. Not great, but not terribly bad either. I'm sure the Sony higher ups appreciate each purchase.
At the CES in Las Vegas last week, Sony's own CEO Kaz Hirai revealed during a keynote that Sony has pulled an upset over Microsoft, announcing that has managed to sell over 4.2 million of its own PlayStation 4 since the console launched in November.
It would seem that while Black Friday and Christmas were very good to Microsoft and Nintendo, they were even better to Sony. As of the first of December, 2013, Sony had sold roughly 2.1 million PS4 consoles worldwide, over a million of which came from the first 24 hours. That would mean that during that one month alone, an additional 3 million or so consoles were sold. Not too shabby Sony.
The news solidifies Andrew House's initial December announcement on the European PS Blog. House wrote, "the PS4 delivered the best launch in PlayStation history," and that "demand remains incredibly strong and continues to overwhelm the supply worldwide."
Under the hood, the PlayStation 4 boasts Supercharged PC architecture, X86 CPU, Enhanced PC GPU, and 8GB Unified Memory according to the official specs.
It supports the same PlayStation Plus service as the Vita and PlayStation 3. However, a Plus subscription is required for online multiplayer games, but not for additional media services like Netflix. Sony has also updated the Dual Shock controllers with a touch screen and improved shoulder triggers, and bundles the console with a headset.
Available titles for the system include Killzone: Shadow Fall, Knack, Resogun, and more. You can check out a complete list of launch titles' prices and install sizes here. It currently retails for $399.
In the opposite corner, Microsoft's Xbox One claims an 8-core x86 processor and Microsoft hopes it will take the place of the family room cable box by letting you watch Blu-ray movies and TV through the console, in a "seamless transition" that lets players switch from playing games to watching shows and/or movies. It will come fully loaded with 8GB of RAM and a 500GB hard drive.
The console's exclusives include Dead Rising 3, Killer Instinct, Ryse: Son of Rome, and more. You can check out a list of the install sizes for all of the launch games here. The Xbox One retails for $499.
Be sure to keep checking back with Gamenguide for more of the latest updates.
