The numbers don't lie -- 2014 ended on a good note for the Big M... at least in regards to Xbox sales.

Microsoft has announced its Xbox console sales numbers for the last quarter of 2014, indicating that the company sold 6.6 million units. While Xbox only sold 2.4 million units the quarter before (which means 8.6 million for the second half of 2014), it's safe to say this increase is attributed to the holiday season as well as those spiffy Xbox One bundles released a few months ago combined with the console's overall decreased price.

"Xbox console sales totaled 6.6 million units, with strong holiday season performance," Microsoft's report stated.

While these are great numbers for Microsoft, there is quite a bit of information to be gained by reading between the lines. Using the phrase "Xbox console sales" does not designate between the Xbox 360 or Xbox One, suggesting that Microsoft likely lumped together the combined sales numbers of the Xbox 360 and the Xbox One to make things seem bigger than what they are for investors.

To put things into perspective, Sony sold 3.3 million PlayStation 4 consoles from July to Sept. and 4.1 million PS4s during the 2014 holiday season (7.4 million for the second half of 2014). While compared to Xbox's last quarter sales of 6.6 million units, it would seem that Microsoft is winning, but remember that the Big M has spliced together its Xbox 360 and Xbox One sales. We have a feeling comparing Xbox One to PS4 sales would appear to be a lot closer if Microsoft would reveal more details.

Since its Nov. 2013 release, Sony has sold 18.5 million PlayStation 4 consoles, and we're hoping that one day Microsoft will release its specific numbers sold for the Xbox One so we could make a nice little comparison. Based on what we have learned, Sony sold 7.4 million PS4s during the second half of 2014 and Microsoft sold 8.6 million Xbox consoles (360 and XB1 combined) during the same time frame.

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