Is Xbox One Really Beating PlayStation 4?

Microsoft Corporation MSFT celebrated a major victory in November after NPD announced that Xbox One had sold 1.2 million units.

Curiously, no specific sales figures were provided for PlayStation 4, but Sony Corp SNE was thought to have sold between 750,000 and 800,000 units.

This news inspired countless headlines that all but indicated that Microsoft had become the industry's new leader. Is that actually the case?

"Bundling, price cuts and a good lineup of games…put some fuel in the Xbox engine," FBR Capital Markets analyst Daniel Ives told Benzinga.

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1 Out Of 13

Thus far, Xbox One has only led the market for one out of the last 13 months.

From November 2013 to October 2014, PlayStation 4 outsold Xbox One in the United States and most other territories. As of October 31, more than 13 million PS4 units had been shipped. Two weeks later, Microsoft announced that it had shipped 10 million Xbox One consoles to retailers.

Price Cuts, Free Games And More

Microsoft cut the price of Xbox One twice in 2014. The first cut removed Kinect and shaved $100 off the MSRP. The second was a temporary $50 reduction that will end after Christmas. Some retailers offered gift cards or took another $25 off the price, bringing it down to $325. That price typically included bundles, which offered multiple free games.

"I doubt that Xbox will stay ahead once price reverts back to $399 in January," Wedbush analyst Michael Pachter told Benzinga.

Xbox One initially started at $499 with Kinect included. Sony has maintained its starting price ($399), but bundles and various Black Friday deals have sweetened the deal.

"I believe Microsoft can keep up the momentum this holiday season and help further close the gap versus Sony/PS4," according to Ives.

Ives said that the "jury is still out" regarding which console will win, but said that "Xbox has come out swinging heading into Christmas."

Disclosure: At the time of this writing, Louis Bedigian had no position in the equities mentioned in this report.