Sony beat Microsoft once again in the fierce gaming console race for the fourth consecutive month in April.
The war between the two biggest gaming console manufacturers continues, but Sony wears the crown for the best-selling console in April, marking the fourth successive month where the PS4 outsold Xbox One. The latest tally on the monthly sales of the two biggest next-gen consoles for April was released by the NPD Group, Thursday. The report details the growth of hardware sales in the U.S. and a downfall of software.
"Hardware experienced a solid 76 percent growth over April 2013, driven by console hardware sales which increased by 120 percent in April 2014 over last year," the research firm said in a news release, Thursday, according to PCMag. "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."
The winning lead of the Sony's best-selling PS4 over its chief rival Xbox One is a significant milestone for the company. Sony did not give the latest sales report, but the company said it has sold over 7 million PS4 units worldwide as of April, while Microsoft lags behind with 5 million units.
Despite that, Microsoft is hopeful the Xbox One will gain precedence. To offer a fair fight, the Redmond software giant is launching a $399 version of the console that excludes the Kinect motion sensor. The price factor has been a major selling point for Sony and the latest move on Microsoft's behalf intensifies the competition.
While hardware sales in the U.S. in April was exceptional, software sales plummeted. However, the first-person shooter game Titanfall, exclusively available on Xbox One, 360 and PC ranked the best-selling software in April.
"New physical software is in a transition period as software for new consoles are doing well, but collectively not offsetting declines, leading to a 10 percent decline in software sales," the research firm said. "PS4 software combined with Xbox One software sales are up over 40 percent compared to sales of the PS3 and Xbox 360 through their first six months. Wii U software sales were up over last year by over 80 percent."
As for publishers, EA reserved the top rank but Warner Bros. Interactive had the highest number of titles in the top 10 list. Below is NPD's full list of the top 10 video game titles in terms of sales in April.
1. Titanfall (Electronic Arts)
2. Call of Duty: Ghosts (Activision)
3. NBA 2K14 (Take-Two Interactive)
4. Minecraft for Xbox 360 (Microsoft)
5. LEGO The Hobbit (Warner Bros. Interactive)
6. The LEGO Movie Videogame (Warner Bros. Interactive)
7. LEGO Marvel Superheroes (Warner Bros. Interactive)
8. The Amazing Spider-Man 2 (Activision)
9. Grand Theft Auto V (Take-Two Interactive)
10. Assassin's Creed IV: Black Flag (Ubisoft).
