The Xbox team will be heading into 2018 on a high after it emerged that Xbox One managed to outsell PlayStation 4 in North America in December, although Nintendo Switch outgunned both its rivals.
That's according to data from research group NPD, which was shared by Xbox marketing chief Aaron Greenberg on Twitter.
Greenberg initially said that Xbox had enjoyed its best ever console share in December.
Thank you to everyone who helped support @Xbox One this holiday, @npdgroup just reported our highest Xbox One December console share ever, looking forward to a big 2018!
— Aaron Greenberg (@aarongreenberg) January 11, 2018
Then when somebody questioned whether this meant it had been outsold by another console, he confirmed that Switch had the most overall units, but Xbox outsold PS4.
Was trying to just thank folks for supporting us and the incredible success following the launch of Xbox One X. But yes Xbox outsold PS4 in December for Gen 8 consoles according to NPD data, while Nintendo also had a great month as Switch had most overall units.
— Aaron Greenberg (@aarongreenberg) January 12, 2018
Microsoft stopped revealing exact Xbox One sales figures some time ago, stating that it preferred to use other engagement metrics, although it was widely assumed this was a face-saving exercise to disguise the extent of the sales gap between Microsoft's latest console and PlayStation 4.
Sony recently announced that PS4 sold 5.9m units worldwide over the holidays, while Nintendo Switch recently became the fastest-selling console in North America and continues to beat sales estimates.
