Sony widened its lead over Microsoft in April as its PlayStation 4 console outsold the Xbox One for the fourth month in a row, according to new data from market research firm The NPD Group.
“Life to date, sales of PS4 and Xbox One hardware have more than doubled the combined sales of PS3 and 360 hardware through their first six months of sales,” NPD analyst Liam Callahan said.
NPD only tracks retail hardware and software sales, but it estimates that total consumer spending on gaming topped $1.14 billion in April when digital sales, subscriptions and mobile apps are taken into account. While the new console offerings have boosted hardware and accessory sales, physical software sales were down 10 percent year-over-year in April.
The news isn’t all bad for Microsoft, though, as its Titanfall exclusive once again secured the top spot among physical retail software sales. Titanfall also took first in March, beating out PS4 blockbuster Infamous: Second Son.
Microsoft changed tactics earlier this week when it announced that it will sell an unbundled version of the Xbox One for $399 without its Kinect camera. The company is also removing the Xbox Live Gold requirement for apps like Twitch, Netflix and Skype and offering refunds to customers that want to cancel the service as a result.
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