The PS4 has been the best-selling console in the U.S. for 10 straight months, however, the console was stopped short of 11 months by the Xbox One. Thanks to numerous price cuts and key bundles, the Xbox One was able to claw its way back to the top. Despite this, impressive bundles for PS4, Xbox One, and Wii U were unable to stop a decline from November 2013.
Overall retail sales across hardware, software, and accessories dipped 11% compared to November 2013. Hardware in particular saw a decline of $294 million, and software by $17 million. This is the complete opposite of previous months, which saw increases compared to their respective months in 2013.
There are numerous reasons for this decline. Last year saw the launch of PS4 and Xbox One, which was a huge deal. The PS4 sold 1 million units in the US and Canada, and the Xbox One sold 1 million across 13 countries in just 24 hours. The PS4 ended its November 2013 run with nearly 2 million units sold, something that neither console could accomplish November 2014. The prevalence of bundles across all major platforms might have had an adverse effect on software sales. With software bundled, many may have felt less inclined to purchase additional software for their new gaming systems. We also saw a 59% decrease in sales for PS3, Xbox 360, and Wii.
Here are the Top 10 best-selling games of November 2014. Remember, the platforms in the parentheses denote best-selling platform to least-selling platform:
- Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare (Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS4, PS3, PC)
- Grand Theft Auto V (PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3)
- Super Smash Bros. for Wii U/3DS (Wii U, 3DS)
- Madden NFL 15 (Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS4, PS3)
- Pokemon Alpha Sapphire (3DS)
- Far Cry 4 (PS4, Xbox One, Xbox 360, PS3, PC)
- Pokemon Omega Ruby (3DS)
- NBA 2K15 (PS4, Xbox 360, Xbox One, PS3, PC)
- Assassin's Creed: Unity (PS4, Xbox One, PC)
- Halo: The Master Chief Collection (Xbox One)
As previously stated, Xbox One was the big winner of November 2014. The console finally beat the PS4, which had dominated monthly sales for ten months. Neither Microsoft or NPD Group released sales numbers, though we do know that the console was unable to match it, or the PS4's November 2013 performance. Still, this is a huge win for the company and the console.
“November set a new record for sales of Xbox One, and Xbox One was the best-selling console in the US and UK,” Xbox marketing corporate VP Mike Nichols said.
“Response to the holiday lineup of games on Xbox One was incredible, with Xbox One fans buying more games in November in the US than any other gen eight platform and enjoying over 357 million hours of gameplay globally.
“In fact, more fans logged into Xbox Live across Xbox One and Xbox 360, and enjoyed more entertainment, than any other month in the history of Xbox. We love to see the excitement from our fans and are grateful for their passion, support and contributions to the Xbox community.”
Nintendo had a pretty decent month, despite the fact that the Wii U didn't move a whole lot of hardware. Pokemon Alpha Sapphire and Omega Ruby, and Super Smash Bros. for 3DS have sold over 1.5 million units each since their respective launches. 3DS software sales increased by 40% in November 2014 compared to November 2013. No word on hardware sales.
The Wii U saw a hardware increase of 10%, and a software increase of 90% compared to November 2013. Like with the 3DS, no numbers were given. Super Smash Bros. for Wii U sold an astounding 710,000 units during the short time that it was available during the month. Nintendo also launched their line of Amiibo figurines, which have seen great success so far. Link, Mario, and Pikachu (In that order) are the best-selling figures to date.
“This is a ringing endorsement from families and fans that Nintendo has the best variety, the best value and the best gaming experiences for sale this holiday season,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive vice president of Sales & Marketing. “We’re extremely confident in our holiday proposition and look forward to closing this year strong and starting 2015 with a full head of steam.”
Sony has not issued a statement yet, but we'll let you know when they do.