Sony’s PlayStation maintains lead over Microsoft’s Xbox

Sony’s PlayStation 4 outsold Microsoft’s Xbox One game console in the US in March, holding the lead for a third month, as its rival tempted consumers with discounts and a popular new game.

Sony fended off the hot-selling new release for the Xbox One, the “Titanfall” shooter game, and more competitive pricing for Microsoft’s product, such as a $450 package at some stores that included a console and the new title.

“PS4 and Xbox One continue to see success with cumulative sales of the two consoles through the first five months currently totaling more than double that of their predecessors,” NPD analyst Liam Callahan said in a statement yesterday. “Sony’s PS4 led hardware sales for the third month in a row.”

The PlayStation 4 game business is a cornerstone of efforts by Sony chief executive Kazuo Hirai to turn around the money losing, Tokyo-based electronics company, which has been hit by falling demand for TVs and cameras.

Since its November release, sales of the $399 PlayStation 4 video-game console have surpassed 7 million units worldwide as of April 6th, Sony said in an April 16th statement. Microsoft has sold more than 5 million of its $499 Xbox One units, according to a blog posting on its Xbox site.

The Redmond, Washington-based company sold 311,000 Xbox Ones during March and 111,000 older Xbox 360s.

Sony doesn’t release its monthly US PlayStation unit sales. Microsoft fell 1 per cent to $40.01 in US trade yesterday.

Shares of Sony rose 1.3 per cent to 1,932 yen at the close of trade in Tokyo while the benchmark Topix index gained 0.6 per cent. Microsoft fell 1 per cent to $40.01 in US trade yesterday.