Analyst: PS4 and Xbox One sales to remain ‘relatively balanced’ throughout launch

Following today's announcement that the Xbox One has sold through more than two million units worldwide in 18 days of availability, Robert W. Baird & Co. analyst Colin Sebastion has revealed that his trade firm believes next-gen console sales for the Xbox One and PS4 — taking variables (launch markets, supply constraints, etc.) into account — will remain "relatively balanced" for the remainder of the launch window.

Although PS4 sales are slightly higher than the Xbox One's at this point, the firm feels that each console "is on track to meet our high-end sales forecast" of three million units by the end of 2013, and 5-6 million units cumulatively by the end of Q1.

“We believe the news also helps to provide some better visibility for GameStop’s holiday sales, and bodes well for software publishers Activision, EA and Take-Two,” he added. “Our latest check on eBay suggests more than 25,000 Xbox One and 50,000 PS4 sales on the online marketplace to-date, with both platforms selling at healthy premiums over MSRP.

“Interestingly, the PS4 is selling at twice the rate of Xbox One, which could indicate strong demand for Sony’s platform in markets initially not included in the November 15 launch, such as Europe and Australia.”

Comparitively, the PlayStation 4 has sold over 2.1 million units as of December 1. It launched in North America on November 15, a week ahead of the Xbox One, but didn't release in the UK until November 29. As of right now, the PS4 is available in 32 markets, 19 more than the Xbox One.