NPD Group: PS4 Outsells Xbox One During March 2017 While Switch Takes Top Spot [UPDATE]

Update: Nintendo has confirmed that the Switch is the "fastest-selling video game system in Nintendo history" with more than 906,000 units sold in March.

It was also confirmed that 925,000 units of The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild were sold during that period of time, equating to a more than 100% attach rate. This has never been achieved by another console.

Original Story: NPD Group published its results for March 2017 today, including sales reports regarding console hardware in North America.

It was confirmed that the PS4 outsold the Xbox One during the month of March. This marks the fifth month in a row that PS4 has led the Xbox One in sales within the territory. The last victory for Microsoft was last October, which was attributed to both strong first-party software (i.e. Gears of War 4), as well as the recent release of the Xbox One S.

However, the top-selling gaming brand was Nintendo with its newly released Switch. The new generation console is confirmed to have sold more than 500,000 units in North America alone during its first week on the market, and had more to show for it in subsequent weeks with the monthly total being over 906,000 units. Demand has outpaced both expectation and supply at a level that surpasses the record-selling Wii during the same length of time post-launch, surprising Nintendo and analysts alike.

So far only Microsoft has come out with a public statement regarding the results. Xbox Corporate Vice President of Marketing Mike Nichols shared the following:

This past quarter, from January to March 2017, we saw record Xbox Live engagement with 1.1 billion multiplayer hours logged globally, a 14 percent increase year-over-year. Looking ahead, we are excited to share more about our plans for Xbox One, including launching the world’s most powerful console – Project Scorpio – alongside an amazing lineup of new Xbox One games. We are thrilled with the incredible response we have received to date for Project Scorpio, and look forward to sharing more about the Xbox One family of devices in the coming months.

As indicated by the quote above, Microsoft is placing emphasis on its plan for Holiday 2017 where it will debut several high profile exclusives, some of which will be announced at E3 this June, alongside a mid-generation hardware refresh: Project Scorpio.

Sony has had a strong presence to start the year with an array of critically acclaimed exclusives that range from Nioh to Horizon Zero Dawn and Persona 5, in addition to strong third-party representation with NieR: Automata.

The PS4 currently stands as the 12th best-selling gaming device of all-time with over 55 million units sold globally. In contrast, the Xbox One has sold over 28 million consoles.