The video game console battle is quite an interesting one, as both Sony’s PlayStation 4 and Microsoft’s Xbox One have generated big numbers thus far. The latest tally appears to be 18.5 million PS4’s shipped within its first year alone, while Xbox Live is close behind with 12.4 million systems shipped. However, according to Strategy Analytics, it won’t be long before we see a winner in the console wars.
As reported by GamesIndustry International, the analyst team believes that the PlayStation 4 will be the overall winner in this console generation, as it believes that Sony’s system will move 80 million consoles by 2019, compared to the Xbox One’s 57 million units. Those certainly aren’t shabby numbers for either company, but Sony will still have an advantage when it comes to its outreach to a larger audience.
With its Connected Home Devices Report, the company believes that the PlayStation 4 “is on path to reproduce the success of the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii.”
With 80 million PS4’s in homes, Sony would have a 40 percent edge over its competition, although Microsoft would no doubt fight back with a number of big exclusives, such as its forthcoming Halo 5: Guardians, which arrives this fall.
The PlayStation 4 sales numbers, if they stick, would actually put Sony more on pace with its success of the PlayStation 2, which sold 20.1 million units in its first year of sales – a huge leap over how the PlayStation 3 performed in its first year, with only 10.5 million units sold.
Microsoft’s Xbox One has played quite a game of catch-up over the past year to earn its 12.4 million units sold, especially considering the system first launched with a higher price point and what some feel was an unnecessary bundling-in of its Kinect motion peripheral. Since introducing “budgetable” bundles that didn’t include the device – and price drops over the holiday season – sales have soared.
Not included in this current battle for first place in the console wars is the Wii U, although Strategy Analytics reported that things are on the rise for Nintendo’s latest system. Although it only sold 5.9 million units in its first year, it’s been “staging a modest comeback” as of late, thanks to hit titles like Super Smash Bros. and Mario Kart 8. And 2015 could be even bigger, thanks to franchises like StarFox and The Legend of Zelda‘s new entries, as well as original properties like Splatoon. However, Strategy Analytics only sees somewhere in the vicinity of 15 million Wii U’s installed by 2018, which would make it the least popular Nintendo console in the company’s history.
No matter which choice is made, the video game industry is still thriving with sales. “Despite reports to the contrary, the game console market is not dead,” said Strategy Analytics senior analyst Eric Smith. “Core gamers have moved faster to this current generation than in any previous generation. The main difference in this generation is that casual gamers who bought a Wii are remaining largely on the sidelines as free-to-play casual games and midcore games on tablets and smartphones have captured this segment of consumers.”
