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After the countless missteps Microsoft made leading up to the launch of the Xbox One, the PS4 has been this generation's sales leader past a large margin. In spite of Microsoft'due south valiant efforts to course-correct over the last ii years, it seems as if there's little promise of the Xbox I ever catching up to the PS4. Fifty-fifty so, there'southward an argument to be made that the Xbox 1 is really thriving despite the massive sales gap.

The sales for the third quarter of 2015 are in, and the folks over at Ars Technica have broken down the numbers. From July to September, the PS4 sold four 1000000 units, the Xbox One sold roughly 1.85 million, and the Wii U only sold about 0.72 1000000. Due to ambivalence from the reports, these numbers aren't exact, merely the results are clear. Even if nosotros're generous in how we summate the number of Xbox One'due south sold, information technology's withal under two million — less than half of the number of PS4s sold in the aforementioned timeframe.

Console Sales Chart

When nosotros expect at the overall sales, the situation looks stark. Even with a ane-twelvemonth head showtime, the Wii U is lagging backside at 10.74 million units sold — a fiddling over 10% of the Wii's sales total. The Xbox One? Its total sales are somewhere between 15.03 million and 17.iii million. And every bit for the PS4, it's sitting on summit with a whopping 29.3 million sold. No thing how you look at it, the PS4 is the lead platform this generation. And now that Sony and Microsoft are competing at the same toll signal, the row has become even harder to hoe for the Xbox team.

With that said, the Xbox I is only now starting to come into its own. It finally has a new Halo game to hang its hat on, and the hotly awaited sequel to 2013's Tomb Raider reboot volition release first on Xbox 1 afterward this calendar month. Compare that to the PS4's pitiful lack of exclusives this holiday season, and the Xbox One is looking pretty skillful right at present.

The PS4 does have Uncharted 4, Street Fighter V, and Horizon: Zero Dawn lined up every bit heavy hitters for adjacent year, but the Xbox One is getting Quantum Break, ReCore, and Gears of War 4. In terms of exclusive games, at that place's a lot to look forrard to in 2016 for both platforms.

On peak of that, nosotros're only a week abroad from a huge Xbox I update. This new OS will be based on Windows ten, and volition reportedly offer substantial usability and speed improvements from tip to tail. Even ameliorate, universal Windows 10 apps will be capable of running on the Xbox One too as PCs, tablets, and phones. The open up app ecosystem that the PS4 then desperately needs is really being tackled first by Microsoft. Permit'southward just hope that this spurs Sony to get on the ball.

Without a dubiousness, the PS4 is more powerful and more popular, but that isn't slowing Microsoft down one iota. Combine this year'southward big games, a brand new Os, and the inevitable Black Friday deals, and information technology's hard to deny how compelling the Xbox One has become in the face of adversity.