The latest Xbox One vs PS4 sales figures have been revealed, this time during a conference call for EA investors. Eurogamer reports that during a conference call, EA CFO Blake Jorgensen revealed the install base for next-gen consoles has grown to 55 million. The breakdown is good news for Sony fans, as Sony reported it has sold 35.9 million PS4s by the end of 2015, including 8.4 million in the final quarter of 2015 alone. This means Microsoft has only moved about 19 million Xbox One consoles so far.
Eurogamer also reports Microsoft remained optimistic about its quarterly financial forecast, and not without reason. Despite being outsold 89 percent by Sony, the Xbox One is still selling at a faster pace than the Xbox 360 did during its first few years on the market. And although the company saw a decline in hardware sales in 2015 that, too, can be chalked up to the performance of the Xbox 360 which is now selling fewer and fewer units every year.
Another silver lining for Microsoft can be found in Xbox Live subscriptions, which grew 30 percent year-over-year to 48 million active subscribers. At $60 per year that’s quite a bit of cash. And, unlike Sony, Microsoft has a wider range of businesses and investments so comparatively lackluster console sales don’t represent a death knell for the business.
So what does this mean for gamers? In general, these numbers support the anecdotal evidence seen in daily life. More people seem to have PS4s than Xbox Ones, and a growing number of gamers have both. Given the high amount of crossover titles in the AAA market, the experiences found on each console are more alike than they are different. For gamers, the decision to choose one over the other often comes down to social influence,i.e., your friends have PS4 so you buy PS4. And while debates over exclusives and game releases will continue to rage on, the bottom line for the industry is that the next-gen consoles are a big success.
