It appears that Microsoft had a nice Thanksgiving holiday — at least in terms of Xbox One sales numbers.
Retail analytics firm InfoScout analyzed 180,000 user-submitted receipts and reported that the Xbox One made up 53 percent of all consoles sold on Black Friday, compared to 31 percent for Sony’s Playstation 4. The Xbox 360 came in third with 9 percent market share; the Wii U was fourth at 6 percent; and the PS3 had a 1 percent share.
InfoScout also found that 66 percent of those receipts were from parents purchasing a console for their kids. Of those who bought Nintendo’s Wii U, 92 percent said they were buying the device for their children, compared to 66 percent for Xbox One buyers and 45 percent for PS4.
In addition, the firm also noted the popularity of bundle deals. Microsoft offered a handful of Xbox One packages, including games like Assassin’s Creed Unity and Halo: The Master Chief Collection with the console itself, while Sony sold its own bundles.
Microsoft also slashed the price of the Xbox One to $329 for Black Friday and Cyber Monday. That was $70 cheaper than the currently advertised price for the PlayStation 4, and $20 cheaper than the holiday price Microsoft announced last month.
Microsoft debuted the Xbox One in November 2013 for $499, which was $100 more than the PS4. The PS4, which has stayed at $399 since launch, has outsold the Xbox One in the U.S. for the past nine months — but perhaps the Black Friday sales can help Microsoft end Sony’s streak.
