After the PlayStation 4 managed to sell more than 2.1 million consoles worldwide and with the Xbox One now confirmed to have sold through 2 million units in 18 days since its release, Robert W. Baird & Co.’s Colin Sebastian recently stated during an industry note that they expect “relatively balanced sales” for both platforms and that both are “on track to meet our high-end sales forecast,” which is 3 million units by 2013 end and 5-6 million units by the end of Q1 2014.
“We believe the news also helps to provide some better visibility for GameStop’s holiday sales, and bodes well for software publishers Activision, EA and Take-Two. Our latest check on eBay suggests more than 25,000 Xbox One and 50,000 PS4 sales on the online marketplace to-date, with both platforms selling at healthy premiums over MSRP.
“Interestingly, the PS4 is selling at twice the rate of Xbox One, which could indicate strong demand for Sony’s platform in markets initially not included in the November 15 launch, such as Europe and Australia.
“Our checks show strong demand for next gen hardware among both game enthusiasts as well as holiday shoppers, and most retailers still have open orders for both platforms. We note that PS4 tends to see more demand at specialty retail (core gamer focus) with the Xbox One getting a higher profile at big box retailers. In addition, our checks suggest solid attach rates of new software in the range of 2.5-3 times the hardware installed base.”
He also stated that Call of Duty: Ghosts will extend its lead over other military shooters, especially over Battlefield 4 due to the latter’s multiplayer issues.