The competitions between Sony Corporation’s (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) PlayStation 4 and Microsoft Corporation’s (NASDAQ:MSFT) Xbox One is very strong as both companies sold more than one million units during the first day of availability of each of the game console.
The PlayStation 4 emerged victorious against the Xbox One in terms of sales by the end of 2013. Andrew House, president of Sony Computer Entertainment said the company sold 4.2 million units of Play Station 4. Yesterday, Microsoft’s Yusuf Mehdi said the software giant sold over 3 million Xbox one units. The figures show that the Japanese game console maker sold more than one million units than its U.S. based competitor.
Take note that Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) launched the PlayStation 4 earlier than its competitor. The game console became available in the United States in November 15 then in Australia and Europe in November 22. It is now available in 53 countries worldwide.Its price is $399.
On the other hand, Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT) released the Xbox One in 13 countries including the United States on November 29. Its price is more expensive than its rival at $499.
Given the price difference and availability in the market, it is obvious that Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) has an edge in attracting more consumers to buy its game console than Microsoft Corporation (NASDAQ:MSFT).
Game console enthusiasts believed that the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One are unique in their own way, and attract consumers based on their features. Consumers who like social media features to be able to share their game status easily will likely buy the PlayStation 4, but those who like multimedia features would prefer the Xbox One.
Separately, Sony Corporation (ADR) (NYSE:SNE) announced that it will be launching its video game streaming service called PlayStation Now this summer in the United States. The service will allow players to stream video games just like music and movies.
During the CES, House said, “We are thrilled to deliver entertainment experiences only possible from PlayStation through our new streaming game service.” According to him, players have the option to rent titles available in PlayStation Now or pay a monthly subscription fee to avail the service, which will offer a combination of live television programs and on demand contents.
