One sure-fire sign that the quiet summer lull is drawing to a close in the video game industry is the release of the latest Madden NFL. Indeed, as it turns out, EA’s sports simulator topped the software pile in the NPD’s monthly report for August, while PlayStation 4 continued its streak by becoming the best-selling console for the month.
Aside from once again thanking the console’s burgeoning fanbase, Sony didn’t detail the specifics of the sales coup, though it did note that PS4 was also the top system in terms of platform-by-platform sales.
In the wake of NPD’s report, Microsoft hinted that the Xbox One is beginning to gain serious momentum, noting a 26 per cent increase in sales over the same period last year. It’s a symptom of the console’s jam-packed slate for 2015, with this coming holiday season brimming with triple-A titles that will no doubt help the Redmond-based giant ship a considerable amount of units.
Per GameSpot, Xbox One Marketing Executive Mike Nichols touched upon the company’s approach to building an ecosystem around the current-gen hardware, and how the months to come will prove crucial for the system.
“We’re excited to further build on this momentum in the months to come. This progress, as well as the excitement we generated at E3–with Xbox exclusive gaming content and backwards compatibility–demonstrates the building momentum that exists within the Xbox ecosystem.”
Throughout the years, almost every console has taken a year or two before establishing a presence in the market – and the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 are no different. Now that both systems have by and large surpassed this difficult period and the teething problems associated with it, the eighth generation is really beginning to kick off in earnest.
For Xbox One, the tail-end of 2015 is shaping up to be massive. With Gears of War: Ultimate Edition and the recently-released Forza Motorsport 6 already in the hands of players, there’s also the timed-exclusive access to Rise of the Tomb Raider to come along with a small sci-fi sequel going by the name of Halo 5: Guardians.
Truth be told, Nichols isn’t the first Microsoft executive to claim that the Xbox One is gaining momentum, but we’re hoping it can challenge PlayStation 4’s place at the top before long. Competition benefits everyone involved, after all.