Microsoft’s Xbox 360 has, for a very long time, dominated the console market sales charts, and although Nintendo’s 3DS may have piped it to top spot in recent times, it has still continued to enjoy one-upmanship over the PlayStation 3 in the home entertainment system bracket; that is, until now. Thanks to the record-breaking success of GTA 5, which, it would seem, nearly every gamer went out to purchase, the PlayStation 3 has leapfrogged its close rival to outsell it for the month of September in the United States.
For a full 32 months, the Sony console has had to play second fiddle to its Redmond rival, but thanks to a special bundle combining the PlayStation 3 and the fastest-selling game of all time, the Japanese company has a minor victory to toast.
GTA 5, which was finally released last month following a lengthy delay, has smashed all kinds of records, with more than half a dozen already confirmed and probably more to come. In retrospect, Sony’s decision to bundle the game with the console was a stroke of genius, and although, as we move into the next generation, the Xbox 360’s sales total will still greatly exceed that of the PS3, it cannot be overstated enough how a crucial a time it is for Sony to be turning things around.
The numbers for the respective sales of both consoles in the United States have been collated by the ever-reliant NPD Group, and with both the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One arriving next month – the latter at a $100 premium over the former – Sony will be quietly confident in its chances of outfoxing Microsoft next time around.
It goes without saying that GTA 5 was the biggest selling game for September, and even though we expect Call of Duty: Ghosts to step up to the plate when it finally debuts on November 5th, it’s highly unlikely that the latest in Activision’s immensely successful series will post anywhere near the kinds of numbers that Rockstar has enjoyed.
As Microsoft has pointed out, the Xbox 360 remains the best-selling console of this calendar year, but with this holiday being a period of transition towards the renewed hardware wars, the software maker certainly has reason to be rather nervously looking over its shoulder.
(Source: GameIndustryInternational)
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