PlayStation 4 outsold Xbox One at U.S. retailers in January

Sony’s home gaming console got off to a strong start in 2016.

The PlayStation 4 outsold the Microsoft’s Xbox One in the first month of the year, according to data from industry-intelligence firm The NPD Group provided to GamesBeat by Sony. NPD only tracks new sales at retailers in the United States, so this doesn’t fully reflect the multibillion-dollar worldwide console market — one of the most important segments of the $91 billion global game industry (based on market researcher Newzoo’s estimates). January isn’t as big of a sales month for games as November and December, but it is still relatively large compared to the summer quarter thanks to consumers wanting to use gift cards and make exchanges following the holiday shopping season.