Last week Sony announced that it had sold over 1 million PlayStation 4 consoles on the device’s North American release date. Now, Microsoft has weighed in with its day-one sales of its Xbox One console.
Microsoft has announced that it too sold over one million consoles on the Xbox One’s launch day. The company has officially declared the Xbox One’s launch the “biggest launch in Xbox history.”
“We are humbled and grateful for the excitement of Xbox fans around the world,” said Yusuf Mehdi, corporate VP of Marketing and Strategy at Xbox. “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.”
Though Microsoft launched the Xbox One in 13 separate markets compared to Sony’s one market, the simple fact that over one million Xbox One consoles were manufactured for release day could come as a surprise to those who had been following industry rumors over the past few months. In August reports surfaced that issues manufacturing Kinect components were causing Microsoft to cut its shipment forecasts for the year. The reports also pointed to optical disc drive manufacturing issues as a possible delay, something that may be related to the disc drive issues some Xbox One owners are now experiencing.
Most Xbox One early adopters were able to play their consoles on day one, however, and Microsoft has provided some nifty stats to prove it. The company claims that players have already destroyed over 60 million zombies in Dead Rising 3, driven over 3.6 million miles in Forza 5, and prepared for holiday feasts with over 43.3 million fit points earned in Xbox Fitness.
