Lock if old. Bu this is interesting news. Well done microsoft.
Xbox One smashes sales records
PUBLISHED: 3 hours 15 MINUTES AGO | UPDATE: 3 hours 6 MINUTES AGO
Australians were among the first in the world to purchase Xbox Ones on November 22 as it launched progressively across 13 countries. Photo: AP
James Hutchinson
Microsoft’s Xbox One has been crowned the fastest-selling video game console to date in Australia, as its key rival, Sony, struggled to fulfil pre-orders for the PlayStation 4.
Market research firm NPD Group said a total of 65,917 Xbox One consoles were sold in its first three days on sale in Australia, more than doubling the previous launch record for the Nintendo Wii in 2006, and beating out previous records for number of consoles sold in a week.
The record sales numbers provided a much-needed boost to the games industry, which has in recent years suffered from faltering sales due to the lengthy shelf life of the previous generation of consoles and greater competition from mobile devices.
Australians were among the first in the world to purchase Xbox Ones on November 22 as it launched progressively across 13 countries, with games retailer EB Games calling demand for the console “unprecedented”.
Sony opted for a staggered launch of its competing PlayStation 4, putting it on sale in the United States in early November before launching it into more countries, including Australia, a week after the Xbox One’s availability.
The Japanese entertainment giant said last week it had sold 2.1 million units in the first fortnight since launch, of which 700,000 units had been sold in Europe and Australia.
The company would not break out local sales, but industry sources told The Australian Financial Review Australian sales of Sony’s device fell short of Microsoft’s across the same period a week earlier, primarily due to the company being unable to ship enough consoles to meet the number of pre-orders at bricks-and-mortar retailers.
Michael Ephraim, the managing director of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia, said the company was planning to fulfil pre-orders before Christmas but expected ongoing shortages.
Unprecedented demand
“It’s been overwhelming,” he said. “I’ve been around since PlayStation One and we still haven’t seen the kind of demand we’re seeing now for PS4.
“The first weekend sales figures is just the beginning because we haven’t fulfilled all the pre-orders yet. We haven’t been able to completely fulfil the demand as yet but we will. Hopefully consumers can buy one.”
He pointed to research from firms Roy Morgan and Telsyte that suggested more than 600,000 PlayStation 4 units could be sold over the next six months, ahead of the Xbox One.
The record sales come despite criticisms from some users and gaming outlets that Australians have missed out on some of the key functionality and online services of both consoles.
Both console manufacturers are now on track to outsell their respective predecessors and quickly beat third-placed Nintendo, whose launch last year of the Wii U has largely failed to capture the attention of gamers so far.
The games industry is expected to pick back up after ongoing slides in industry revenues. Data from NPD Group indicated the Australian market has so far declined by 8.8 per cent this year, with a $688 million sales value between January and October.
Consulting firm PwC this year forecast the consoles market would drop for a fourth consecutive year, to $1.3 billion in Australia. It also revised its forecast for the overall sector to reach $1.55 billion in 2017, leaving a $700 million black hole against the $2.2 billion it originally expected the local market to reach by 2016.
Source: http://www.afr.com/p/technology/xbox_one_smashes_sales_records_yLa9DIIeFWDNqNGF8QPPQI
Join the Prediction League 
