PS4 tops US hardware charts in February

As of next month, things might get more interesting, but for the time being Sony’s US console hardware run continues.

NPD data shows that PS4 was once again the best-selling console in the US in February, VentureBeat reports. The Xbox One experienced a resurgence in 2016, for a while overturning a sustained period of PS4 success, but this is now the fourth month in a row that it has trailed PS4.

PS4’s strong month was helped by a string of exclusive releases for the console, including Team Ninja’s Nioh and Sony’s sales smash Horizon Zero Dawn. There was also Capcom’s Resident Evil 7, which also included exclusive VR support for the PlayStation VR.

Microsoft’s eyes will presumably now be looking ahead to the launch of Project Scorpio later this year. Both the PS4 Pro and Scorpio were initially touted as interim upgrades, but there are rumours that Microsoft might instead start edging towards positioning the machine as a backwardly compatible successor to the Xbox One.

If it can create the impression that PS4, even in its Pro iteration, is a generation behind, Microsoft might be able to begin recapturing lost ground.

Next month, however, will likely be a completely different story. Nintendo Switch launched last week and posted record opening weekend sales in the US and some European territories.

Nintendo has chosen not to reveal actual sales numbers, however, and with data suggesting that they were quite similar to both the Wii and Wii U – both of which went on to enjoy wildly different fortunes – it’s impossible to determine what the Switch’s long-term performance will be.