PS4’s impressive lead in the console market stretches to 9 consecutive months

Despite some early indications that Microsoft might have finally found a way tocombat the sales chart tyranny of the PlayStation 4, the latest numbers from the NPD Group say otherwise. In an email correspondence on Thursday afternoon, Sonyconfirmed that the PS4 had achieved nine straight months of chart-topping success, tripling August’s sales figures.

“September 2014 was a record-breaking month for PlayStation’s digital business, thanks in large part to the success of Destiny,” said Eric Lempel, vice president of Sony Network Entertainment International. “Last month’s PlayStation Store revenue increased nearly 90 percent compared with Sept. 2013. Working closely with Activision and Bungie, we wanted to make the launch of Destiny a special experience for PlayStation fans. We’re thrilled to see this high engagement from PS4 and PS3 owners.”

Between Destiny and a few first-party releases, Sony managed to maintain its spot at the top despite fierce competition from the Xbox One. For one week in September,anyone who bought an Xbox One could pick up Destiny for free, but it looks like that wasn’t enough to sway console buyers in Microsoft’s favor.

Stepping away from the battle of the consoles, overall, hardware sales flourished last month relative to the same time period in 2013. Total hardware sales were up 136%, from $183.4 million in September 2013 to $432.7 million in 2014. The PS4 and Xbox One combined to make up 85% of those sales.

Even Nintendo saw success, mostly thanks to the release of Super Smash Bros. for 3DS. Wii U sales jumped 50% month-over-month as well.

As for the best-selling games, it shouldn’t come as much of a surprise that Destiny ran away with September. Madden NFL 15, FIFA 15, Super Smash Bros. for 3DS and Middle-earth: Shadow of Mordor rounded out the top five.

Microsoft’s inability to climb back on top in September is a worrying sign now that the big triple-A titles have begun making their way to retail, but Sunset Overdrive and Halo: The Master Chief Collection are imminent. There’s still plenty of time for things to turn around.