Sony seemed to have an unbeatable position in the console market for the year 2014 with the PlayStation 4. Rivals such as Microsoft and Nintendo were either losing money or lagging behind in terms of sales. The Xbox One was released at around the same time when the PlayStation 4 came out in the market last fall which made the competition even more interesting.
Sony, unlike its competitors, had been making the right decisions from the beginning. Microsoft, on its part, had first released the Xbox One at the price $499 which is $100 more expensive than the PlayStation 4. In June, the company found a way to slash down the price of its console into as low as $399 by retailing the Xbox One without the Kinect.
Analysts believe that initially selling the Xbox One at a high price was one of the several mistakes made by Microsoft.
During the holiday season, Microsoft went on its price-cutting scheme by dropping the price of the Xbox One to $349, making it $50 cheaper than the PlayStation 4. Once again, the move has helped the console to regain a lead in sales wherein the results were notably seen in the U.S., the product's most important market.
"It seemed like Microsoft this holiday season had a better message for core gamers than Sony," said analyst David Cole at DFC Intelligence, a firm that focuses on game research. "The price drop is huge - you can't discount that."
In November, Microsoft's decision to cut the prices of the Xbox One had allowed it to gain momentum in its race against the PlayStation 4 in the U.S., making the console as the highest selling unit in the region.
"Clearly, Sony has jumped out to a lead with a great console and, I think, a great pricing strategy," said chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen at Electronic Arts, a game developer. "But Microsoft is catching up quickly."
Nintendo also became a name to reckon with in the past holiday season after releasing a number of hit games for the Wii U console which proved once again that its fan base can be counted on with undiminished loyalty. As of Sept. 30, the company reported a sale of 7.29 million Wii U consoles. Though the Wii U, which is focused on a touch-screen game controller, may not be as close as possible to the success that was achieved by the original motion-sensing Wii console, it had eventually brought improved fortunes for Nintendo.
Nintendo's lagging hardware sales is somehow compensated by the sales from releasing the most popular games in the system. This includes long time popular game titles such as Zelda, Mario and Pokémon. Other huge money makers include the Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. Though the company posted a net loss last year, it is forecasting a profit upon the conclusion of its current fiscal year on March 31. For Nintendo, its success formula is made up of two elements: stronger sales of newer Wii U titles and dedicated longtime fans.
