Can, And Will, The Xbox One Catch Up To The PS4?

Currently in the gaming industry there are three observations that you can make about the 3 major consoles. One is breathtaking, one is embarrassing, and the other is sad. The success of Sony’s new PlayStation 4 is breathtaking. The suffering sales of the Wii U are sad. But the observation that this piece will focus on is the embarrassing first months of the Xbox One.

[AGaryColemanClone]

Nope.

The PS4 is outselling the Xbox One worldwide by their current Japan sales alone of 65k/week 260k/month.

The PS4 is around 6.4 to 6.5 million worldwide now.

The PS4 outsold the Xbox One 2-1 last month in the US.

The PS4 is outselling the Xbox One 5-1 in Europe.

While the Xbox One was only at 3 million sold at the end of 2013 and only sold 140k in the US in January, some very small amount in Europe and none in Japan putting its current installed base at maybe 3.3 million at most.

The PS4 is selling at a rate of roughly 1 million a month right now while stores everywhere are constantly sold out with new stock getting sold almost immediately.

The PS4 is on track to hit 10 million worldwide around May this year. And can easily reach the 17-18 million range by the end of 2014.

The Xbox One right now will have a hard time even reaching 5 million sold by the end of 2014.

None of this should be shocking to anyone. I don't know how many people have talked about over the past few years about how the next Xbox wouldn't have the luxury of the RRoD to massively inflate sales and anyone expecting it to do much better than the first Xbox was in for a harsh dose of reality.

[Abash]

I don't think so really, MS can do big and expensive things to try and get the Xbox One off the shelves but it wont stop the PS4 from selling so incredibly well.

[Drewidian]

The Xbox One has far greater market reaching potential than the PS4 for a number of reasons, but for time sake I'm going to keep it short. Any one of these uses could push the Xbox One over the PS4 and have it outsell it.

First.... MS could/should partner with cable and satellite companies to sell subsidized Xbox Ones for say $99 down on a 2 year contract with free Xbox Live Gold and Halo 5 (I think we will see this happen in the fall). Why? Because everyone wins. The cable companies are loosing the cord cutting war and have tried everything under the sun to stop it, but many are just leaving anyway. The TV audience is just a much bigger audience than the console gamer market is. If MS did this not only would they see huge numbers of customers being pulled into the ecosystem, but they could see use of Skype, Windows, Windows Phone and Onedrive skyrocket. For us gamers, there is going to be a Halo TV show in the fall. Imagine winning or even just placing in the top 5 and having YOUR Spartan show up in the TV show with your tag! Instant Immortality. There's more but I'm going to move on.

Second... MS could partner with schools for distance learning and even just build a program where not only could you get tutoring around the world via Skype, but earn real college credits and earn a degree without having to step a foot onto a campus. If they partnered with a Major University and you could attend lectures/classes and even ask questions to the presenter while taking notes on your Surface, it could revolutionize education by bringing the classroom into your living room. $500 is a small price for this kind of access.

Third.... Partner with a national Gym chain like LA Fitness and build exercise routines where a personal trainer can work out with you privately or in a Skyped Group class. Schedule it for any time of the day and have the personal trainer be able to look over your data, provide live motivation, and even make live recommendations without having to leave your living room. A number of people I know just don't like going to the gym. They could even offer the same subsidy deal as the cable companies. Add Fitbit or other device compatibility and you can get that data incorporated as well, which could be added to the next option...

Fourth... Partner with the VA to offer Physical therapy to injured Veterans. A nurse could make a house call to an injured vet, take readings, upload them with her surface, have a doctor look over it and call them via Skype to answer questions. Hell partner with any hospital system to provide the same service at homes for those post surgery or elderly patients who need to talk with a nurse if they need more close attention. If there is a problem call the hospital's helpdesk. Again paid for by your health insurance once it is listed as a medical device.

There's a number of other ideas, but any one of these could tilt the Xbox One in number of sales and once those sales are there, there's no reason to believe that the developers won't make apps and services that can do any of the things listed above. None of which the PS4 can do as well if at all.

The point is that this can fit into a broader community lifestyle and not just gamers. Will it and should it do gaming? Yes, can it do a ton of things else that the PS4 can't do and potentially reach a much broader audience??? Yes.

I know this will get a ton of disagrees and down bubble votes, but if you disagree, say why. I will read every comment and where I can I will reply. I will agree MS doesn't have the best track record on fulfilling visions or the promise of any tech they have produced, but I still see the Xbox One as having a lot of potential.

[PONTIAC08G8GT]

Do you just cut and paste the same comments all over? Second time I've read this same response.

On topic, no, the X1 won't catch the PS4, but so what? Why do they need to sell evenly?

"Have a hard time reaching 5 million sold by end of 2014." Seriously? You seriously believe that? Closing in on 4 million and we are in March, not to mention the Titanfall bundle that will move systems, and the slew of exclusives. If Halo makes it out in 2014, that's going to add to hardware sales. From March until the end of the year, to reach 5 million sold they would have to average 100,000 a month. Going to surpass that when the games start to roll out. Plus I believe the X1 launches in additional countries this year.

[VENOMACR1227]

Yup, I read his same post in another article.

@GaryColeman, I hope you aren't responsible for predicting company yearly forecasts. Your assuming the numbers stay the same and no games come out. Both systems are going to increase in sales as games come out. The PS4 is going to run away with this generation but that doesn't mean the Xbox One is going to be bad. Over 3.5 million systems sold in 3 months ain't bad. Problem is, PS4 is over 6 million. By the end of the year, one system or possibly both might have a price cut so that will increase sales. To say they will have a hard time hitting 5 million is absurd.

[Mikelarry]

the xbox one isn't doing so great now but personally i will wait till after e3 before i can say whether to abandon ship

[GamersHeaven]

No chance Sony has this generation on lock down.

[Neonridr]

No, I don't think the Xbox One will sell as much as the PS4. But then again I don't think it has to in order to be successful. The Wii sold more than the 360 or PS3 did but that didn't necessarily mean the console was better, just that it was more popular.

The Xbox One still has some great games coming out for it, and sales will definitely improve. E3 is a chance for MS to generate a lot of buzz for their machine. Maybe show people why it wouldn't be a bad idea to pick up their console.

But that being said, Sony is just killing it right now with the PS4. They made a lot of mistakes with the PS3 and it just seems like everything they are doing is based on really smart decisions. And this says a lot coming from me since I only recently joined the Sony family back in November.

But there is no reason why both machines can't be successful and have a healthy future in this generation of gaming.

[Mikelarry]

this is the second common sense comment you have made today. STOP IT!!

[Neonridr]

lol.. I got a fever! And the only prescription... is more cowbell!

[mmcglasson]

I wouldn't say the Wii was more popular, it just attracted a much wider market. Especially people that thought they could lose a ton of weight and get in shape playing the Wii (it's called a gym lol). It also attracted older (elderly) people for physical therapy purposes. For most gamers (besides younger games) it sat and collected dust after the newness wore off.

Sony has been top dog every generation since the PlayStation brand came out. Last generation was a close battle between the X360 and the PS4 (PS4 pulling ahead at the end). The PS3 will continue to be on store shelves for years (just like the PS2).
People also forget PS3 came out an entire year after the X360 and still passed it in sales World Wide. Yes, Nintendo did beat the PS3 in console sales with the Wii but they weren't in the same market. The N64 was the same market as the original PlayStation, the Gamecube was in the same market as the PS2/Xbox, the Wii was not in the same market at the PS3/X360.

[Neonridr]

well by definition of what you just said, the Wii was in fact more popular. Because people of certain demographics that wouldn't normally purchase video games did so. There was more appeal to the Wii because of its perceived "ease of use".

And the Wii was still a video game console, no matter how you break it down, so it was in competition with the PS3 and 360. Are you now going to say that the Wii U isn't in competition with the XB1 or PS4?

[GameSpawn]

"For most gamers (besides younger games) it sat and collected dust after the newness wore off."

Yep. It did for me. The only game for my Wii that actually saw some serious playtime was Super Paper Mario (fun as hell). I played Galaxy for a while and even tried to get into Galaxy 2, but both lost their lust very quickly in comparison to SPM. I even tried to give Smash Bros. multiple goes, but it didn't have the same fun-factor Melee had.

For at least 2 years now my Wii has just been sitting there doing nothing. All it has is the slim chance I'll catch nostalgia fever and want to go back and play the few Wii games I have for it.

[Majin-vegeta]

ehh. http://www.halolz.com/wp-co...

[Trackboss]

The PS3 didn't do well in the beginning, I say it's possible if you judge more than 4 months of a console's lifetime. I enjoy both my Xbox One and PS4. The PS4 will most likely triumph but we'll see

[AGaryColemanClone]

What?

The PS3 outsold the Xbox 360 in its very first year and every single year its been on the market.

[Majin-vegeta]

I'm tired of people using the PS3/360 excuse.

Let me put it in lay man terms so you can understand it better.

PS3=Stronger hardware more expensive.

X1=Cheaper hardware more expensive.

PS4=Stronger hardware cheaper.

DO YOU SEE IT NOW??

[Fishy Fingers]

360 had a year of free market, PS3 still caught it. So let's not act like its impossible 6 months into a gen because one outsold the other 2:1.

Eitherway, as long as they have health growth and an install base worth supporting (they already do) then everything else is irrelevant. Doesn't effect >gamers<.

[theXtReMe1]

Am I the only gamer who is tired of hearing about system wars? Who cares which system sells what? Is anyone playing games, or are they watching the sales charts in hopes of justification?

Both systems are going to have great games. Start playing them and stop worrying about which brand pees further.

[HomerDog]

tell that to the ps fanboys. all they care about are numbers.

[chrissx]

Even in an alternate dimension, the xbox still will never catch Ps4

[firelogic]

They can't catch up. Even last gen, the PS3 outsold the 360 month over month. PS3 sold more in 7 years than 360 did in 8. Do the math. That's with a ridiculous $600 price at launch.

[HomerDog]

not if you're asking in n4g

[Boody-Bandit]

Swap out n4G with reality.

[SpinalRemains138]

Embarrassing? I wouldn't call over 3 mil embarrassing at all.

Is it going to catch PS4? Probably not, but that doesn't mean we should use hyperbole and call One embarrassing or dead. Come on now.

[brew]

Even after an expected Xbone worldwide pricecut , this is probably going to be the reality -

North America - Xbone
Europe = PS4
Japan - PS4
Rest of the world combined - PS4

Overall - PS4

- Catch up ? No.
- Be less embarrassing and not get crushed in sales as badly as it is now ? Probably.

[Jdoki]

Now, I'm sure MS don't want to come in last a third generation in a row, but with the WiiU sales I don't think that'll happen anyway.

However, I don't see the XB1 overtaking the PS4. Not because of any fanboy loyalty, but because the PS3 at a higher price point outsold the 360 world wide from year 1 onwards - which shows the PlayStation brand still has a lot of strength. Throw in that the PS4 sales have been higher than Sony expected, and it's the cheaper option and the numbers don't add up right now for MS.

It's good that the XB1 is selling better than the 360 did at launch (even if the 360 was far more supply constrained and had no other HD competition) - it's just a shame (for them) that demand for the PS4 blew them away.

[Godmars290]

It might eventually match up to US numbers, but not world totals.

[izumo_lee]

Can the Xbox One catch up to the PS4? If the PS3 was able to make up and surpass the 10 million lead the 360 had anything is possible.

However Sony spent a ton to recover from their launch woes of the the PS3 (literally using much of the profit the PS2 brought in). Is Microsoft willing to do the same? With a new CEO & a guy who literally destroyed a well respected brand the chances of them doing the same is very unlikely.

[leemo19]

It won't outsell not with the rate the ps4 is going. Next year Sony will probably do a price cut which will make it more demanding. Xbox-one will sell more but I just don't see it catching the ps4 right now.

[Whiskeyjacked87]

No.

[Benjaminkno]

Fanboy central.

I don't think MS has a prayer. I'll consider an XBOne when the price drops

[Sh0ckWav3]

i think it can..if the right games come along...