For the first time in more than eight years, Sony is back on top, and it has a lot to do with the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo's lackluster Wii U video game system. It's a good time for Sony, as the company is looking to wipe the floor with its competitors for the next five years or more.
In the fiscal year ending in March, Sony managed to sell 18.7 million video game consoles. Nintendo, which has been the top dog for most of the past eight years, has fallen on hard times as the Wii U is struggling to keep up with the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One.
Nintendo for the fiscal year only managed to move 16.31 units, which is a 31 percent slide in sales. This has much to do with 3DS, as the system failed to meet the needs of gamers, and the Wii U, a system that was destined to fail from day one.
In the case of Microsoft, the company sales rose to 16 percent due to the successful launch of the Xbox One. The company managed to move 11.6 million console units for the fiscal year, though this could have been higher if the Xbox One was selling at a similar price to the PlayStation 4.
So far, Sony has sold over seven million PlayStation 4 units, which puts the system well ahead of the Nintendo Wii U, a system that is nearly two years old. This alone goes to show how Nintendo has failed in its bid to retain its seat as the top dog in the home console arena.
However, it is a different story in the portable market. Nintendo is ahead despite the 3DS selling less than expected. The Sony PlayStation Vita is failing just as expected, and also Microsoft; well, we can't add Windows Phone into this equation.
While things are going well for Sony right now, the company still has a lot of work to do. Microsoft recently announced a second Xbox One SKU for $399 sans Kinect. It will be available for purchase on June 9, Monday.
Sales of the Xbox One are expected to increase after this price drop, and it will be interesting to see if the PlayStation 4 will continue down this path of success. We don't see why it wouldn't, unless Microsoft manages to pull off something extraordinary, though we are not expecting anything of the sort to happen.
