PlayStation 4 soundly thumping Xbox One, Sony says

A Sony exec says that sales of the PlayStation 4 are 'nearly doubling' sales of the Microsoft Xbox One. 

Sony exec John Koller says that sales of the PlayStation 4 are "nearly doubling" sales of the Microsoft Xbox One. 

In an interview published on the PlayStation blog, Mr. Koller cited recently-published figures from retail-tracking firm NPD, which show that the PS4 is the most popular of the so-called eighth-generation consoles. (The struggling Nintendo Wii U belongs to that same group.) 

"Globally, we announced last month that we’ve sold through more than 4.2 million units as of the holiday season, making PS4’s launch the biggest in console gaming history," Koller said in the interview. "I think the PS4 demand is indicative of how we’ve tapped into something special – and that’s that gamers want to be recognized for their greatness and want to enjoy experiences together." 

The PlayStation 4 was released in North America on Nov. 15, a week before the Xbox One. Critics have praised the device for its speed and refinement, and for the $399 price tag – making the PS4 a hundred bucks less than Microsoft's console. 

"In my time with the PlayStation 4, I found it straightforward and, most important, fun," Molly Wood of the New York Times wrote in a head-to-head test of the PS4 and Xbox One. "That ought to be the highest pursuit of a device invented for playing games, so for my money, the keep-it-simple philosophy of the PlayStation 4, plus the $100 price break, make it the winner." 

Definitely not the winner: The Nintendo Wii U, which has struggled to attract consumers, and which is partly responsible for dragging down Nintendo's profits in recent quarters. "The biggest problem with the Wii U is a matter of mood," Nintendo president Satoru Iwata recently said. "How do we change the feeling about the Wii U?"