Why the PlayStation 4 is outselling the Xbox One

Sony's PlayStation 4 video game consoles may be outselling Microsoft's Xbox One, and there's much more than brand loyalty involved.

In fact, the PS4's success could largely be because the PlayStation is a much simpler console, according to CNET Senior Editor Dan Ackerman.

"Sony said, 'Here's a black box that you plug into your TV and it plays games,' " he said.

"Microsoft had a deeper, more ambitious approach, but one that was not as easy to explain to consumers," Ackerman added. " 'We're your living room box. You can pass your cable TV HDMI signal through the Xbox One and use an on-screen channel guide. You can use it to work out, to make Skype calls, etc. Oh yeah, and it also plays games.' "

Another selling point for the PlayStation, at least initially: a $399 list price at launch, $100 less than the Xbox. The PS4 also is available in 57 countries, while you can buy an Xbox in only 13.

(Read more: What Microsoft may be up to with the next Kinect)

Sony announced that PlayStation 4 sales have topped 6 million worldwide since its unveiling last November. Microsoft sold an estimated 3.5 million consoles in the same period, according to one report.

But Microsoft's console business isn't hurting, according to Ackerman, who commended the tech giant's work with voice and gesture controls, and facial recognition.

"They just don't have the automatically dominant position that they enjoyed in the previous generation," he said.

Neither console has a must-have game to persuade users to buy a new system, according to Ackerman. That could change next week with the release of Titanfall, a game exclusive to the Xbox,

—By CNBC's Althea Chang