Sony news: Bad news for PlayStation as rival looks to steal PS4 sales crown

Sony PlayStation remains the market leader when it comes to overall console sales with their PS4 and PS4 Pro.

This is likely to continue for much of this generation, with the Nintendo Switch and Xbox One hard pressed to beat the impressive 88 million tally already reached.

However, news from Japan this week certainly paints a fight brewing on the horizon.

According to the latest reports, the Nintendo Switch has now officially outsold the original PS4 system in Japan.

And this will certainly be taken into consideration when it comes to predicting just how well the Switch can do in the long term.

Not only does the hybrid handheld have a unique selling point and plenty of exclusive franchises to draw from, but it could also benefit from an extended shelf-life.

New versions of the console are rumoured to be in the works and would certainly follow in the footsteps of the 3DS.

It will remain speculation for now over whether the Switch can ultimately beat the PS4 regarding lifelong sales.

However, we do now know that the Switch has achieved higher sales in Japan over less time.

This report comes from the latest Media Create sales chart, which predicts that the Switch has now sold more than 130,000 units in Japan than the original PlayStation 4 and PlayStation Slim.

Total sales for the PlayStation 4 and PlayStation 4 Slim stands at just over 6.5 million.

While the Nintendo Switch is reported to have reached over 6.6 million sales.

However, while the Switch has surpassed the combined sales of the PS4 and Slim variant, it still has some way to go when you add in the PS4 Pro.

This could be as much as 1 million more units and certainly shows just how popular the PS4 brand has become.

It should be noted that these numbers come from just one market, with the PlayStation brand way ahead when it comes to lifetime sales.

This follows great game sales news for Sony for one of its 2018 exclusive titles.

Having been well-received by fans and critics alike, it has now been reported that Marvel’s Spider-Man is the fastest Superhero Game in the US.

And not just the United States but probably in the history of the superhero gaming genre as well.

This puts it past the hugely popular Batman Arkham games, no easy feat considering how well they sold on PS4, Xbox One and PC.

The news was shared by Mat Piscatella, an analyst with the NPD Group which tracks the market and industry trends.

“Bonus November 2018 Video Game market sales data update from The NPD Group – Over the first three months in the market, Marvel’s Spider-Man is now the fastest selling superhero game in US history,” Piscatella revealed on Twitter.

It has also been reported that November has proven a great month for all three major hardware companies – Sony, Microsoft and Nintendo.

The latest NPD data suggests that all three consoles – PS4, Xbox One and Switch – scored massive sales last month.

“PlayStation 4, Xbox One and Switch each sold more than 1.3m units in the US during November 2018, the first time any 3 Console platforms have sold more than 1m units in the same November,” a second message from Piscatella adds.

“Great time for Console gaming.”

It should be noted that this information is directly connected to the United States market and is not a reflection of worldwide sales.

The latest sales news from Japan suggests that the Nintendo Switch and PlayStation 4 had another strong week.

The Switch is predicted to have sold 278,701 units, while the PlayStation 4 family sold 75,433 units.

Nintendo’s sometimes forgotten 3DS family of devices is reported to have sold 26,936 units, not bad numbers for the ageing system.

Could this be another hint that the Nintendo Switch could steal the PS4’s sales crown in the future? Only time will tell.