Statements from Microsoft and Sony prematurely reveal NPD results showing that the PlayStation 4 was the top-selling video game console in January 2017.

With over 53 million units sold worldwide, Sony's PS4 is dominating the eighth generation console market. And with hardware revisions like the PS4 Slim and upgraded PS4 Pro, Sony's console shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, the PS4 continues to outsell its competition on a regular basis, with Sony's console named the top-selling console of January 2017.

This is according to data from the NPD group, as reported by VG 24/7. While the NPD group's full report won't be available for another week or so, Microsoft and Sony have both released statements on the performance of their respective consoles for the month of January. In Sony's statement, the company pointed out that it didn't just have the best-selling console on the market, but four out of five of the best-selling games in January were PS4 titles.

Even though Microsoft's Xbox One was outsold by the PS4, January still wasn't a bad month for the Xbox brand. According to Microsoft's statement, the Xbox One sold more units in January 2017 than the console did in January of last year. Furthermore, Microsoft reported that gamers spent 21% more time playing games on Xbox One in January 2017 than they did in January 2016.

So even though Xbox One was outsold by PS4, Xbox One actually showed growth from a year-to-year basis, whereas PS4 sold less units this year in the month of January than it did last year. Overall, both consoles are still selling quite well, and their success seems to stand at odds with the various analyst reports and rumors that have suggested that this generation will be the last for home video game consoles.

In the meantime, it will be interesting to see which console has stronger sales in February. Both Sony and Microsoft have major console-exclusives scheduled to release later this month, with Horizon: Zero Dawn hitting the PS4 and Halo Wars 2 launching for Xbox One and Windows 10. PS4 also has Nioh, the critically-acclaimed action-RPG from Team Ninja, which may boost its sales in February thanks to its high review scores across the board.

As of right now, it's hard to predict if PS4 or Xbox One will be the best-selling system for February, and March is an even bigger unknown. There's a number of major PS4 and Xbox One games scheduled to release next month, but the consoles will have a new competitor to deal with in the form of the Nintendo Switch. The Switch is enjoying some buzz thanks to its well-received Super Bowl ad and the hype surrounding The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, and it will be interesting to see how its release disrupts the competition between PS4 and Xbox One.