Skip to main content
  1. Home
  2. Gaming
  3. Guides

Microsoft records its best console launch yet, moves 1 million Xbox Ones in a day

Ryan Fleming
By
microsoft records best console launch yet moves 1 million xbox ones one
Image used with permission by copyright holder

Microsoft has announced that the November 22 launch of the Xbox One is the company’s best console launch yet, with over 1 million units sold around the world. That far outstrips the launch of the Xbox 360, which shipped just over 1.5 million total units in its first two months.

Despite the news, we probably won’t know the exact sales figures for either the Xbox One of the PlayStation 4 until Microsoft and Sony release their quarterly results. Regardless, the sale of 1 million consoles is likely enough to make Microsoft very happy going into the holiday shopping season. More units are expected on store shelves in the next few weeks, and that “1 million sold” figure should expand significantly.

Recommended Videos

“Xbox One is now sold out at most retailers,” Microsoft claimed in a statement. “We are working to replenish stock as fast as possible to meet the unprecedented demand from our customers.”

Related

Although no software sales numbers have been released yet, Microsoft did tout a few fun facts regarding four of its biggest launch titles:

  • Over 60 million zombies have been killed in “Dead Rising 3”
  • Over 3.6 million miles driven in “Forza Motorsport 5″
  • Over 7.1 million combos in “Killer Instinct”
  • Over 8.5 million enemies defeated in “Ryse: Son of Rome”

“We are humbled and grateful for the excitement of Xbox fans around the world,” Yusuf Mehdi, Corporate Vice President of Marketing and Strategy, Xbox wrote in the statement. “Seeing thousands of excited fans lined up to get their Xbox One and their love for gaming was truly a special moment for everyone on the Xbox team. We are working hard to create more Xbox One consoles and look forward to fulfilling holiday gift wishes this season.”

With over 1 million units sold, the Xbox One and the PS4 are in a dead heat in terms of sales. Although console wars are a marathon rather than a sprint, both companies would surely love to end the year on top in results for bragging reasons alone (not to mention satiating their investors). That may come down to availability as much as anything, and that could favor Sony.

The Xbox One featured a worldwide launch, releasing in North America, Europe, Australia, and Brazil on November 22. Releases in Japan and other regions will be coming in the following months and into 2014. Sony, on the other hand, has so far only released in North America; its release in Europe, Brazil, Australia, and New Zealand is scheduled for November 29, then release in Asia and India will begin in December. Traditionally, Sony has outsold Microsoft significantly in both Europe and Japan. If Sony sill has enough stock to satiate its European fanbase while Microsoft has released everything it has in Europe, Sony could open up a lead – although it will likely be a small one and short lived.

Editors' Recommendations

Topics
Ryan Fleming
Ryan Fleming
Former Digital Trends Contributor
Ryan Fleming is the Gaming and Cinema Editor for Digital Trends. He joined the DT staff in 2009 after spending time covering…
Hello Neighbor 2 offers impressive open-ended puzzling and one creepy villain
Theodore Masters Peterson in Hello Neighbor 2

Hello Neighbor from 2017 was a thematically creepy game. It followed the story of protagonist Nicky Roth, who, through the player’s input, infiltrated the labyrinthine house of an unhinged man with a few too many dark secrets rolled up his sleeves. Without giving too much away, the original’s three main acts were filled with the same sort of horrors one might expect to find if they were to rummage around in their shady next-door neighbor’s basement in the middle of the night -- only to find the aforementioned neighbor creeping around the corner with a hatchet and a menacing glint in their eye.

But the average neighbor doesn't keep macabre secrets behind traps and puzzles in their basement, which means Hello Neighbor 2 could be the next big thing for anyone who ever fantasized about solving mysteries in the dead of night. Don’t try this at home -- er, your neighbor’s home -- but do try Hello Neighbor 2.

Read more
Xbox Game Pass loses three of its best games this month, including Hades
hades best builds key art new cropped hed 1244036

Xbox shared the second wave of August Game Pass titles coming this August, but what's leaving the service is a bit more notable. Game Pass is losing three indie heavy-hitters, including the award-winning Hades.

The mid-month additions to Game Pass this August feature many day-one additions such as Midnight Fight Express, Commandos 3, Immortality, and Tinykin. The only AAA game coming this month is Ubisoft's Immortals Fenyx Rising, with the total lineup spanning eight games across cloud, console, and PC. Here's the full list of games, what platforms they will be available on, and what date they will come to the service.

Read more
Microsoft claims Sony pays to stop devs from adding content to Xbox Game Pass
A tv shows the new Xbox Game Pass that comes to Samsung Gaming Hub soon.

In the midst of the ongoing battle to get its $69 billion acquisition of Activision Blizzard approved by Brazil, Microsoft has accused Sony of paying for "blocking rights" to prevent developers from adding their games to Xbox Game Pass.

The company filed a claim to the South American country's Administrative Council for Economic Defense (CADE) on Tuesday, commenting that Sony has been actively trying to inhibit the growth of Game Pass by keeping certain games from appearing on Microsoft's game-streaming service. In the claim, Microsoft says Sony is paying developers to keep their games out of Game Pass out of exclusivity fears. In other words, it's concerned that some of the Activision Blizzard games that are on PlayStation Plus, like games in the Call of Duty series, may become a Game Pass exclusive once the deal closes -- a concern that Microsoft deems incoherent.

Read more