Xbox One "catching up quickly" to PS4 says EA

Xbox One "catching up quickly" to PS4 says EA

Game publishers have a huge stake in the success of hardware companies, generally rooting for high sales across a fairly even spectrum of relevant competitors.

So Electronic Arts doesn't have much to gain from one console company resoundingly beating another. Too much power in the hands of any single console company means less power for third-party games publishers, who tend to gain better deals from intense competition.

Although Sony has been the more successful hardware company in the first year of the current generation, hitting the 10 million "sold through to consumers" mark back in August, EA believes things will even out.

"Clearly Sony has jumped out to a lead with a great console and I think a great pricing strategy," said EA chief financial officer Blake Jorgensen, according to Gamasutra. But, he said, "Microsoft is catching up quickly." Earlier this year, EA published Titanfall as an Xbox console exclusive.
Earlier this month, Microsoft said Xbox One had passed 10 million total units shipped to retail.  This is a time of year when retail carries a lot of stock in anticipation of the holidays. Actual sales are likely a few million beneath that landmark.

But Xbox One is undoubtedly bouncing back. This year the company dropped the console's price and is competing aggressively with retail bundles and marketing spend. Last week, Microsoft claimed Xbox One sales tripled since the recent price cut to $349.

Although PS4 has beaten Xbox One every single month this year, according to stats house NPD, Microsoft recently felt bold enough to claim that Xbox One has been outselling PS4.

Jorgensen said that "pricing actions that are taking place, particularly during this Christmas season, driven by Microsoft, around reduction plus a lot of bundled software, I think will continue to pull the consumer into the new consoles."

Original Article at: www.Gamasutra.com