PS4 is Best-Selling Console Once Again According to NPD

The Xbox One had a few strong months as the top-selling console in November and December, but Sony's PlayStation 4 has come out in 2015 as the number one console in terms of sales once again.

In a statement to GameSpot, an SCEA spokesperson wrote, "PlayStation 4 was the top-selling console in January and remains the cumulative leader in the U.S. according to NPD data. Since launch in November 2013, 18.5 million PS4 units and 81.8 million software units have been sold through to consumers worldwide."

Microsoft's Mike Nichols, corporate VP of Xbox Marketing wrote in a statement regarding the NPDs, "After closing a record-breaking holiday, 2015 is off to a great start, with record January sales for Xbox One and more game sales per console than any other platform. Xbox Live also continued to set new all-time highs, with 22 percent growth in gamers and in hours compared to January 2014."

After a holiday discount that brought the Xbox One down to $350, the system briefly went back up to $400 before returning to $350 again in the middle of last month.

PlayStation 4 was the top-selling console in January and remains the cumulative leader in the U.S. according to NPD data.

The NPD Group also released their monthly data and analysis for US retail sales in January 2015 sales, and overall we've seen large hardware sales declines compared to last year. Overall hardware sales are down $54 million compared to January 2014, but both software and accessory sales are up by $12.4 million and $5.4 million respectively.

The NPD's Liam Callahan wrote in a statement, "Hardware sales declined by 23 percent as sales cooled off after the holiday season. Eighth generation console hardware sales were down by 22 percent while seventh generation console hardware sales decreased by 35 percent." However, the silver lining is that "combined hardware install base of PS4 and Xbox One is close to 60 percent higher than the cumulative hardware totals for Xbox 360 and PS3 at the same point in their lifecycles (after 15 months)."

Sales for current-gen games is on the rise and has outpaced last-gen software sales compared to January last year. Callahan wrote, "The sales of January 2015 launch titles were up over 200 percent versus January 2014, with Dying Light being the major new release of the month. If January 2015 releases performed in line with January 2014 releases, overall software sales would have decreased by 4 percent."