PS4 leads U.S. hardware sales in January, nearly doubles Xbox One sales

The PlayStation 4 is back on top as NPD Group revealed it to be the best-selling hardware for January 2014. In the firm's latest report, Liam Callahan revealed, “PS4 led overall hardware sales this month, followed by the Xbox One."

Although specific numbers weren't revealed, John Koller, Sony Computer Entertainment America Marketing Vice President, added the PS4 sales nearly doubled "the nearest next gen competitor," which, of course, would be the Xbox One.

"And PS4 remains the cumulative leader here based on today’s report from the NPD Group," he added. "Globally, we announced last month that we’ve sold through more than 4.2 million units as of the holiday season, making PS4’s launch the biggest in console gaming history. I think the PS4 demand is indicative of how we’ve tapped into something special – and that’s that gamers want to be recognized for their greatness and want to enjoy experiences together."

Last month, Xbox One outsold the PS4 though Sony maintained it was due to lack of supply. At the time, Dan Race, senior director of corporate communications for Sony Computer Entertainment of America, said, “We sold every PS4 available at retail in the U.S. and were out of stock in December due to overwhelming consumer demand."

Total retail video game sales (hardware, software, and accessories) were down 21 percent compared to January 2013; however, it's important to note that January 2014 was a 4-week period while January 2013 was a 5-week period. If sales were normalized to account for the difference, then sales would be down only one percent.

Combined, the Xbox One and PS4 drove a 17 percent increase in hardware sales for January 2014. Again, when taking into account the difference, normalized sales of hardware were actually up 47 percent.