According to a report by the NPD Group, Microsoft's Xbox One was the top selling console in the US for the month of April. The last time the Xbox One triumphed over rival Sony's Playstation 4 was back in December. Factors influencing this likely included the un-pairing of the Kinect last year which allowed for a lower price point, as well as Microsoft's continuing strategy of offering a $50 discount on top of bundling major game titles with new consoles.
Another big thanks to our fans for making us the #1 selling console in April according to #NPD.
— Aaron Greenberg (@aarongreenberg) May 14, 2015
While we don't know by what percentage the Xbox One led the PS4, we do know that sales of the Xbox One have increased 64 percent when compared to the sales during April of last year. Additionally, the total number of active Xbox Live users (including both the One and 360) grew 24 percent.
Of course, even with this growth, the Xbox One still falls far behind the Playstation 4. Sony announced at the beginning of January that they had sold 18.5 million consoles worldwide. The last time Microsoft reported the total number of consoles sold was last November when they announced they had sold nearly 10 million.
Overall, things haven't been looking very good for the Xbox division. In an earnings call last quarter, they announced a year-over-year 24 percent decrease in revenue due to heavy discounting to push more consoles. It isn't all doom and gloom, though: with this report comes some proof that Microsoft's strategy might actually be working despite lower margins.
Additionally, Microsoft recently announced that they would be attending Gamescom this year, while its rival Sony sits out. With this conference and E3 just around the corner, the outlook on the Xbox One is promising. Between new games, continued discounts, and bundling, Microsoft may be finding the winning strategy it needs to overcome Sony.
Source: Twitter (Aaron Greenberg)
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