And the sales #'s are in...
Ok, so I was wrong. If only partially. Supposedly the PS4 outsold the Xbox One in North America in November. I say supposedly because the numbers still aren't clear. Xbox One sold roughly 900k units in the US in November. And PS4 sold over 1 million in North America. These numbers are limited to retail sales however. And the other problem, of course is that PS4's #s are for all of North America. And those with basic geography skills know that North America consists of more than just the USA.
For now, I'm just going to assume that while these numbers are not 100% of the picture, they will probably withstand the test of time with the final numbers simply being a scaled up version of the current numbers.
It is a little humbling to be wrong. But, I was only partially wrong and only because I didn't heed my own advice. I simply should have held off on making any predictions. But, making predictions IS fun.
I had predicted that the Xbox One would outsell the PS4 in North America based on anecdotal evidence that there were more Xbox One's there to be sold. And this was because, ultimately, my argument was founded on the fact that with demand outstripping supply the winner would be the console with the greatest availability.
And I still think this IS the case. Especially for November. And I wager it will hold true for December as well.
Where people were screaming about getting in tons more PS4's than Xbox's it seems there simply wasn't the same amount of coverage for the cases where people received more PS4s to help ensure I had a good basis for my predictions.
I *shouldn't* be surprised by this. I had always assumed Sony would have the better production and supply chain connections. They are much more heavily invested in the hardware market and have been doing it longer. I simply felt Microsoft may have an edge in terms of yields due to their opting for the older, cheaper RAM in the Xbox One. And let that combined with the availability rumours lead me to assuming Microsoft had more, especially in North America.
Anyway, I think I'm going to generally try (with "try" being the key word here) to keep my mouth shut on any further PS4 vs. Xbox One debate. At least for a few months. I may talk about each, or aspects of each individually. Any more comparisons and I may incite some justified ire :).
And as I've said in the past. Both consoles are good. And any talk of "winning" anything will need to wait until demand dies down a bit. I also expect both systems will continue to get updates over the next year or two that may have a serious impact on the landscape. So, even arguments over what a console does and does not do is liable to change. So whether your metric for a winner lies in numbers, or an objective comparison between the two systems. You still have some time to wait before you can do so safely.
To back that point up, the other day I was searching up Xbox One articles and ended up reading an article stating the 10 reasons the Xbox One sucks. Ended up being an article from back before Microsoft backed down on the always online and DRM things. And every 1 of the 10 points is either something that has changed, something that was just flat out wrong, or something that Sony went ahead and did as well. Rendering the entire list moot. EVERY SINGLE POINT.
In other words... even though both consoles are now officially released. You could probably write down another 10 points today about one console or the other, and have all 10 points decimated in the next year. While I wouldn't expect grand, sweeping changes. Many of the gripes about on either side are rather trivial things.
For now, I'm just going to assume that while these numbers are not 100% of the picture, they will probably withstand the test of time with the final numbers simply being a scaled up version of the current numbers.
It is a little humbling to be wrong. But, I was only partially wrong and only because I didn't heed my own advice. I simply should have held off on making any predictions. But, making predictions IS fun.
I had predicted that the Xbox One would outsell the PS4 in North America based on anecdotal evidence that there were more Xbox One's there to be sold. And this was because, ultimately, my argument was founded on the fact that with demand outstripping supply the winner would be the console with the greatest availability.
And I still think this IS the case. Especially for November. And I wager it will hold true for December as well.
Where people were screaming about getting in tons more PS4's than Xbox's it seems there simply wasn't the same amount of coverage for the cases where people received more PS4s to help ensure I had a good basis for my predictions.
I *shouldn't* be surprised by this. I had always assumed Sony would have the better production and supply chain connections. They are much more heavily invested in the hardware market and have been doing it longer. I simply felt Microsoft may have an edge in terms of yields due to their opting for the older, cheaper RAM in the Xbox One. And let that combined with the availability rumours lead me to assuming Microsoft had more, especially in North America.
Anyway, I think I'm going to generally try (with "try" being the key word here) to keep my mouth shut on any further PS4 vs. Xbox One debate. At least for a few months. I may talk about each, or aspects of each individually. Any more comparisons and I may incite some justified ire :).
And as I've said in the past. Both consoles are good. And any talk of "winning" anything will need to wait until demand dies down a bit. I also expect both systems will continue to get updates over the next year or two that may have a serious impact on the landscape. So, even arguments over what a console does and does not do is liable to change. So whether your metric for a winner lies in numbers, or an objective comparison between the two systems. You still have some time to wait before you can do so safely.
To back that point up, the other day I was searching up Xbox One articles and ended up reading an article stating the 10 reasons the Xbox One sucks. Ended up being an article from back before Microsoft backed down on the always online and DRM things. And every 1 of the 10 points is either something that has changed, something that was just flat out wrong, or something that Sony went ahead and did as well. Rendering the entire list moot. EVERY SINGLE POINT.
In other words... even though both consoles are now officially released. You could probably write down another 10 points today about one console or the other, and have all 10 points decimated in the next year. While I wouldn't expect grand, sweeping changes. Many of the gripes about on either side are rather trivial things.
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