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Although certain press releases issued last night may make you think the opposite, it is PS4 that has emerged as the early leader in the next-gen US sales race.
Cutting through all the jargon, PS4 was the best-selling next-gen hardware in the US in November. Although this of course simply mirrors the trends seen in all major markets, it’s an all-the-more notable victory in the US where the Xbox brand has for so long enjoyed dominance.
The same could be said for the PS4’s even stronger sales lead in the UK which, unlike the rest of the Europe, has also historically favoured Xbox.
Microsoft’s angle is that Xbox One was the ‘fastest selling’ console in the US – as in, it sold more units more quickly than PS4, despite falling behind over the full length of the month, over which PS4 of course had a one-week head start.
Xbox One sold 909,132 units in its first nine days on sale in the region.
Nintendo, meanwhile, revealed that Wii U sales had jumped "by more than 340 per cent over sales in October" although it didn’t reveal any actual numbers. For those not in the know, not releasing numbers itself speaks absolute volumes.
Pachter earlier this week issued a damning prediction regarding the Wii U’s fortunes.
Things still look good for 3DS, however, which sold 770k units in November bringing lifetime sales to 10.5m.
The overall US games market grew seven per cent year-on-year in November with hardware setting an all-time record.
UPDATE: NeoGaf number-crunchers have concluded that Wii U sold 220k hardware units in November. That’s better than Pachter alluded to, but still way short of where the console needs to be if it wants to hit Nintendo’s targets.
Super Mario 3D World sold 215k units, representing the lowest ever US attach rate for a 3D Mario game. This is the same trend as was seen in Japan.
