So, I did some editing after going back throughout the last 3 years and made some changes.
I noticed that 2016 was always ahead of 2015 right from the beginning... and 2017 was always ahead of 2016 right from the beginning.
Never at any point did either year drop before their respective predecessor. Not even 2016 from 2015, where they were only separated by less than 500k.
I also noticed that despite 2017 being its peak year by a wide margin, the PS4 had the "weakest" December out of the 3 years.
Hardware Comparison Threads:
Current Thread
Switch 1 '25 vs DS '11, 3DS '17, and Wii '12
Older Threads:
PlayStation/Xbox/Switch: 2022 Edition
PlayStation/Xbox/Switch Hardware Battle: 2021 Edition!
PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Nintendo Switch: 2019 vs. 2020
PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Nintendo Switch: 2018 vs. 2019
PlayStation 4/Xbox One/Nintendo Switch: 2017 vs. 2018
PlayStation 4: 2015 vs. 2016 vs. 2017