Xbox One VS PS4: NPD Sales Numbers Show Nintendo 3DS Beat The PlayStation 4?

The PS4 VS Xbox One console battle is on every gamer’s minds, but some people might be surprised the PlayStation 4’s NPD sales numbers in December were beat not by Microsoft but by the Nintendo 3DS!

As previously reported by The Inquisitr, finding a PS4 in stock is very hard in the United States, but apparently PlayStation availability is higher in other countries (or at least there’s enough supply to meet local demand). The worst part about the situation is that many online sites are the marking the PlayStation price up to $500 and beyond, making it the same price as the usually more expensive Xbox One.

Recently, Sony announced the worldwide PS4 sales numbers had reached 4.2 million units sold while Microsoft said Xbox One sales were only a little over three million. Oddly enough, according to the NPD number the PS4 lost to the Xbox One in the US market. Why? Sony’s Dan Race claims it’s due to supply issues:

“We sold every PS4 available at retail in the US and were out of stock in December due to overwhelming consumer demand. PlayStation 4 remains the cumulative leader for next-gen console sales in the US since the launch on November 15th.”

Part of the problem is that the PlayStation 4 is sold in 52 countries while Microsoft hasn’t expanded the Xbox One availability beyond the initial 13 launch markets. This fact may also explain several things, not just the PS4 NPD sales numbers, which only consider the US market. Both Sony and Microsoft use the same set of manufacturers to produce their consoles and Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter points the Xbox One manufacturing is at the same rate:

“We expect Sony to continue to ship 1 million consoles per month, so as of the end of January, we believe Sony will have manufactured a cumulative 5 million consoles and will have shipped 4.25 – 4.5 million.”

But the oddest part about the NPD December announcement is that the Xbox One VS PS4 battle was actually won by Nintendo:

“Nintendo’s 3DS topped overall hardware sales for Dec. 2013 and for 2013 as a whole. However, with its $500 price point, the Xbox One led annual hardware sales on a dollars basis.”

Gamers might also be befuddled to hear that the gaming industry actually shrank in 2013. Overall sales were $13.27 billion in 2012 but in 2013 they shrank down to $12.97. While hardware and accessory sales were up by 28 percent, sales of actual games were down. Call Of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4 were the top sellers but I guess gamer weren’t that interested in many of the other options.

Were you surprised to hear the PS4 VS Xbox One battle was won by Microsoft in the United States although Sony is leading worldwide?