PS4 vs. Xbox One: Sony Is Crushing Microsoft In The Console Wars 3 To 1

Sony's PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 3 continue to pull ahead in the console war, with both devices outselling Microsoft’s Xbox One and Xbox 360 at a ratio of at least 3 to 1. Sony disclosed its sales figures in its recent quarterly earnings report.

Japan-based Sony Corp. (NYSE:SNE) said it sold 3.5 million PS4 and PS3 units worldwide between April and June. Last week, Redmond, Washington-based Microsoft Corp. (NASDAQ:MSFT) said it shipped 1.1 million Xbox One and Xbox 360 consoles during the same period. That doesn't mean the devices were actually sold, but it does give a picture of how lopsided this battle has become.

Despite Microsoft lagging Sony, console sales overall are on the rise. Liam Callahan, an analyst at NPD Group in Port Washington, New York, said gaming hardware sales more than doubled in June, compared with a year earlier.

“The 106 percent increase in hardware sales (vs. June 2013) was lifted entirely by console hardware sales, which were up by over 200 percent," Callahan said. "The strong sales performance of console hardware helped to offset the declines seen in portable hardware.”

Both Sony and Microsoft's eighth-generation consoles have proven popular with consumers, he noted. “Combined sales of Xbox One and PS4 are over 80 percent higher than the combined totals for Xbox 360 and PS3 -- an indication of the strength of the start of this new console generation,” he said.

Phil Harrison, Microsoft's corporate vice president of Europe and other regions, said earlier this month that Sony was at 9 million consoles sold, while Microsoft was at 5 million sold.

"Hats off to Sony, they've had a great start; they have been in more countries and -- to date, at least -- at a lower price. We have announced a new Xbox One at a lower price; we go to 29 new countries starting in September,” Harrison told Edge magazine.

In April, Sony had moved 7 million PS4 units and the Xbox One was at 5 million units shipped to retail stores like Best Buy and GameStop. Both consoles launched in November, with the PS4 reaching buyers one week earlier than the Xbox One on Nov. 15.