Microsoft’s Xbox One outsells PS4 for first time this year

Microsoft’s Xbox One outsold Sony’s PS4 in April — the first time this year that has happened, a report out Friday revealed.

While the Xbox victory came in a month with very low hardware and software sales across the sector, as few games were rolled out, it didn’t stop the folks in Redmond, Wash., from trumpeting the win.

“As the best-selling console in the US in April, fans set record April sales and engagement for Xbox One last month,” Xbox marketing boss Mike Nichols said in a statement provided to GamesBeat. “Xbox One console sales in the US increased 63 percent in April 2015 compared to April 2014.”

Overall, sales of video game hardware and software in the US inched up 3 percent in April, according to the report, from NPD Group, to $595.7 million. Hardware sales actually dipped 4 percent, to $191.9 million — as the prices for the games dipped.

Unit sales were up 12 percent.

The five best-selling games in the month, according to NPD, were Mortal Kombat, Grand Theft Auto V, Battlefield: Hardline, MLB 15: The Show, and Minecraft.