Retailers confirm Xbox One X first week sales beat the PS4 Pro in the UK, as new data reveals that Microsoft’s decision to appeal to core gamers has paid off.
The Xbox One X is finally in stores, bringing with it a promise to give core gamers the ‘most powerful console’ ever. It seems that Microsoft’s decision to appeal to this specific target market has paid off, as new data suggests that the Xbox One X is off to a flying start.
In its first week of sales in the UK, retailers report they sold over 80,000 units. Thus far the raw data confirms that 67,000 Xbox One X consoles have been sold, though it is customary for hardware sales to be up-weighted by 20%.
According to GamesIndustry.biz, this means that the Xbox One X launch week was better than the first week of the PS4 Pro and on par with the Nintendo Switch. The PS4 Pro sold just 50,000 units in the UK during its first week on sale, while the Nintendo Switch moved about 80,000 units.
There are some caveats to the data, though. Notoriously, the Nintendo Switch has suffered from stock issues and the console was so difficult to get at launch due to the high demand. This stock shortage has continued throughout the year, meaning that sales of the console could have been much higher if Nintendo was able to produce more units quicker. Moreover, the Xbox One’s launch week included five entire days, whereas the Nintendo Switch and the PS4 Pro launch weeks were just three and four days long, respectively.
Even so, Microsoft will be delighted with the early performance of its new console, especially as the Xbox One X continues to face tough competition from the Sony and Nintendo consoles. Sony actually released a white PS4 Pro on the Xbox One X launch day, but this does not seem to have slowed down the success of the new Microsoft console.
Microsoft will be hoping that it can grow that sales figure even more in the coming months, too. One of the key complaints about the Xbox One X is that there were no major games launching alongside the console, which is part of a larger conversation about a lack of Xbox One exclusives in general.
However, in the next few months, there will be games like PlayerUnknown’s Battlegrounds, Crackdown 3, and Sea of Thieves, which also promise Xbox One X enhancements. These could all drive sales, potentially making that launch week sales figure look paltry by comparison.
