Microsoft Exec Explains Why They Don’t Post Xbox One NPD Numbers Often, Defends Lack of New IPs

[Zanten]

Aura7541 said:

Zanten said:
The holidays are DEFINITELY going to be interesting, both in terms of how the Xbox One performs against the PS4 in the U.S., and how they choose to report it. Likely going to find the most appealing angle, which all companies obviously do, but the statement in the OP article does put them in a bit of a pickle, if they can't pull out a victory for the holidays. If they can't, then comments on the numbers will likely be vague, impressive sounding statements that don't actually mean much, "We've had an x percent increase compared to the summer months! =O '

The MOST interesting outcome would be if they won, say, November's NPD, proceeded to shout it from every rooftop, ("We're so darned close to the holidays, THESE are the months that count, pfffft to January through October, THESE TWO MONTHS ARE EVERYTHING.") and then lost the December NPD to Sony. There's actually a pretty good chance of it happening, the MCC drops on the 11th of November, so it should give a good solid boost, but one that might not keep them ahead of the PS4 into December. The more emphasis Microsoft puts on pushing their November win, the more a December silence is going to echo. o.o

A lot of awkwardness will ensue, that's for sure. It won't be a very good start to 2015 for MS either. Even with a franchise as large as Halo, the chances of the X1 outselling the PS4 in the US are not guaranteed. Sony won't just sit around and do nothing. They will find a way to counter the Halo effect similar to how they countered the Titanfall hype with Infamous: Second Son. I thought that the X1 would outsell the PS4 in March because holy crap, the amount of hype for Titanfall was off the charts! o.O

Me too! o.o I mean, Jebas, the hype for that game was RABID, and even though it was coming to PC and, later, 360, I just figured that it would mean we'd see massively frontloaded sales, without much in the way of legs for moving consoles. I was astounded when the PS4 ended up winning anyways. Heck, I even thought the Xbox One would win June's NPD, because they'd have pre-orders during all of May and the beginning of June that would come charging in, (basically a smaller Destiny Bundle Effect,) that would give enough of a spike, even if a short one, to win them that month, given I don't think the PS4 had aaaaanything to boost it in June. But nope, no such luck. xP

I might be significantly more interested in getting a PS4, but even the times I thought the Xbox One was going to snag a sales victory, it ended up losing. o.o Makes me really uncertain about how the holiday will pan out, even with the MCC dropping. Still, if they're going to win ANY month this year, I believe November is their best shot. Sunset Overdrive isn't currently looking to be a system seller; heck, the unavailable Madden bundle was (and possibly still is,) higher on the list, despite being OUT OF STOCK, than the Sunset Overdrive bundle. xP