Microsoft has announced that the Xbox One has sold over 2 million units in 18 days, keeping up to Sony’s sales figures, which we just recently reported on. What this signifies is that right now, there is no clear winner in the supposed ‘console wars’ and that it will probably January until we really get an idea of who ‘won’. Even though, to be fair, both companies have really won because it hasn’t even been a month since either console was launched and both companies have both sold over 2 million consoles. This also means that AMD will have shipped over 4 million APUs to consumers in the form of gaming consoles and could be a huge deal for that company a well as Sony and Microsoft.
Don’t forget, 2 million Xbox One consoles means that Microsoft has already done $1 billion in Xbox sales because the Xbox One is $499, while the PlayStation 4 is only $399. This results in Microsoft beating Sony to $1 billion in console revenue even though I suspect that by the end of the year Sony will come out on top in terms of both consoles sold and revenue generated from console sales. Anyways, Microsoft selling 2 million consoles also means that there will be a lot more people on Xbox Live than ever before and around Christmas time I suspect that both Sony and Microsoft may experience some online glitches.
Even though the Xbox One is a significantly more expensive than the PlayStation 4, it is clear that the extra $100 in price did not affect the console’s sales as I had suspected it would. However, I do believe that Microsoft’s sale strategy and limited global support will ultimately hamper their sales in developing markets where they could potentially see their biggest sales. I suspect that Microsoft’s sales will fizzle by the end of the year while Sony’s will continue to chug along as they supply the various markets markets that they are present and supporting and Microsoft is not.
While I haven’t had a chance to spend enough time to play with both consoles extensively and experience both networks to a good enough degree, there is no denying that Xbox Live is a superior online experience to Sony’s. Not just that, but in the North American market, I suspect that Microsoft will be the stronger of the two consoles even though I believe the PS4 will be stronger globally. PlayStation stays true to the gaming roots it has while Microsoft is clearly trying to make the Xbox One the focal point of your entertainment experience. It remains to be seen which approach is better, that is until the year is over and final sales numbers begin to trickle in. Not to mention the complete and utter lack of any attractive titles for either console at launch is another muddling factor. Since neither console has any significantly strong launch titles, there is no clear winner in terms of better exclusives, which once again explains the even keel sales figures.
