24/7 Wall St.

Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) claims its Xbox flagship game platform outsells any of its console rivals. Sony (NYSE: SNE), at the top of that rivals list, needs to post strong holiday sales to keep pace.

According to Venture Beat:

A slimmer PlayStation 4 wasn’t enough to slow down Microsoft’s momentum.

Xbox One was the top-selling home console in the United States September, according to data from industry-tracking firm The NPD Group. This marks the third straight month that Microsoft’s gaming system has beaten out the PlayStation 4 and Nintendo Wii U in terms of units sold. After winning July and August, Microsoft has strung together a strong few months. But it’s important to note that summer and early fall only do a fraction of the sales that the industry will see in October or especially November and December.

Microsoft has built up momentum since the summer due in large part to aggressive price cuts and the introduction of the slimmer, sleeker Xbox One S hardware revision. Sony countered with a slimmed down revision of its own for the PS4 that debuted September 15 at $300. PlayStation fans, however, were likely saving their money for PSVR or the 4K-capable PlayStation 4 Pro system that is coming in November instead.

Game sector sales are much more important to Sony now. Games are core to its consumer electronics strategy. This is no longer true for Microsoft. Even when it wanted to dominate American living rooms, its Windows franchises were much larger in revenue  As Microsoft has moved aggressively into the cloud industry, gaming has become even less important

Every major retailer and consumer electronics store has begun to use Xbox and PS4 discounts and special bundles to gain sales. Unfortunately, these retailers don’t care if Sony can pick up market share. They just want to make money.