Changing Of The Guard: Sony Trumps Nintendo In Console Sales For First In Nearly A Decade
Simply put, Sony is kicking tail in the console market these days, thanks in large part to strong demand for its PlayStation 4 console. Sales of the PS4 have not only consistently outpaced rival Microsoft's Xbox One, the other major console that launched in November of last year, but have also helped Sony skip past Nintendo for the first time in eight long years.
News of the feat has just started making the rounds after being noticed by Japanese language news site Nikkei, which took to comparing separately announced sales figures from both companies. Those figures tell an interesting story -- 18.7 million console sales for Sony in the fiscal year ended on March 31, and 16.3 million game machine sales for Nintendo.
Sony hasn't been ahead of Nintendo in combined game machine sales since before the launch of the original Wii console in 2006. This time around, the Wii U isn't selling as well as Nintendo would like, while the PS4 is being welcomed in every market it's launched in so far.
A closer look at the figures also reveals that Nintendo is leaning heavily on its handheld console sales, which make up the bulk of the company's overall game machine shipments. In particular, Nintendo's 3DS handheld accounts for 12.4 million of Nintendo's 16.3 million combined console sales. Meanwhile, Sony's been able to move 14.6 million PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PS4 consoles.
*Thumbnail Image Source: Flickr (Pete Slater)
News of the feat has just started making the rounds after being noticed by Japanese language news site Nikkei, which took to comparing separately announced sales figures from both companies. Those figures tell an interesting story -- 18.7 million console sales for Sony in the fiscal year ended on March 31, and 16.3 million game machine sales for Nintendo.
Sony hasn't been ahead of Nintendo in combined game machine sales since before the launch of the original Wii console in 2006. This time around, the Wii U isn't selling as well as Nintendo would like, while the PS4 is being welcomed in every market it's launched in so far.
A closer look at the figures also reveals that Nintendo is leaning heavily on its handheld console sales, which make up the bulk of the company's overall game machine shipments. In particular, Nintendo's 3DS handheld accounts for 12.4 million of Nintendo's 16.3 million combined console sales. Meanwhile, Sony's been able to move 14.6 million PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3, and PS4 consoles.
*Thumbnail Image Source: Flickr (Pete Slater)
