Sony's PS4 beats Microsoft's Xbox One to Christmas number one Sony's PS4 outsold Microsoft's Xbox One by 166,000 units during the run-up to Christmas in the UK, despite having launched a week later. According to figures from GfK Chart-track, cited by the Entertainment Retailers Association (ERA), the Xbox One, which launched on 22 November, sold 364,000 units worth £144.5 million, while the PS4, which launch on 29 November, sold 530,000 units worth £181.6 million. This may have been partly down to the fact that the Xbox One is £80 more expensive than the PS4. The Xbox One costs £429, while the PS4 costs £349. The November launches of the Xbox One and PS4 consoles came too late to rescue the disc-based physical games market, which ended the year 2.9 per cent down on 2012. However, digital games, (which covers mobile gaming as well as PC and console downloads), grew by 16.4 per cent to £1.18 billion. "Games continues to deliver digital sales strongly, but it was disappointing that Xbox One and PS4 came so late in 2013 and then huge demand meant stock sold out quickly," said ERA director general Kim Bayley. Retailers will be working hard in 2014 to maintain the sales momentum of these two great new pieces of kit. Sales of videogames in the UK were up 6.6 per cent overall in 2013. The biggest-selling individual entertainment title was Grand Theft Auto V, which sold 3.67 million units, according to the latest edition of ERA's annual Entertainment Chart. Videogames increased its lead as entertainment's biggest sector during 2013 and now accounts for 41.4 per cent of total entertainment sales with video on 38.9 per cent and music on 19.7 per cent. Microsoft seemed to have a US-focused launch with an emphasis on TV and US sports. Sony played the hardcore gamer card well in the UK," said Jason Kingsley, CEO of games developer Rebellion. All sales are good for the UK development scene though and it is early days for overall sales figures. They are both excellent machines. The UK games development sector contributes approximately £1 billion to UK GDP per year, and employs over 9,000 highly skilled development staff - 80 per cent of whom are employed outside of London - according to TIGA, the trade association representing the UK video games industry.