PlayStation 4 outsold Switch, Xbox One — but sales are red hot for all

Hardware spending in the United States was down year-over-year for March, according to industry-tracking firm The NPD Group. That’s not surprising because last March is when the Switch debuted to huge demand. But through the first quarter of 2018, hardware sales are outpacing 2017.

“For the 2018 year-to-date period, hardware spending has increased 13 percent to $925 million,” NPD analyst Mat Piscatella said. “That’s driven by growth in Xbox One spending.  This is the highest year to date total achieved since 2014.”

When Piscatella says Xbox One is contributing to the growth, that means that the platform’s hardware is selling better than it has in the past — or at least, that it’s making more money. But it isn’t outdoing its competition.

Sony and Nintendo are also flying off shelves at retail and … Amazon warehouses.

“Sony’s PlayStation 4 was the best-selling console hardware platform in March, and it remains the best-selling console hardware platform year-to-date,” Piscatella said.

In terms of individual products (as opposed to the entire hardware lineup that includes revisions and various configurations), Nintendo came out on top.

“The Nintendo Switch 32GB with Neon Red/Blue Joy-Con is the best-selling hardware item of both March as well as 2018 year to date.