Xbox Series has already sold more than double Xbox One in Japan
The consoles have cleared 260,000 units in the region where Microsoft typically struggles
Microsoft’s Xbox Series of consoles have already more than doubled Xbox One’s lifetime sales in Japan, the latest hardware sales data has revealed.
Data published by Famitsu indicates that, as of July 3, Xbox Series X and Series S have sold some 260, 504 units. According to the same source, Microsoft’s previous Xbox One console sold around 114,831 units in its lifetime.
However, Xbox Series still has a way to go before it breaks Xbox records in Japan: Microsoft’s best-selling console in the region is the Xbox 360 with 1.6m units sold in its lifetime.
Xbox Series X and S have enjoyed an unusual sales momentum in Japan over the past month, with the consoles even at one point outselling PlayStation 5 in two separate weeks.
While notable given how infrequently it occurs, sales of Xbox Series X/S matching those of PS5 spoke largely to the ongoing stock issues being faced by Sony in its home country.
In the week ended July 3, Xbox Series X sold 9,756 units and Xbox Series S managed 2,774 units. PS5 sold 20,028 standard consoles and 4,333 digital editions.
And while the figures represent a marked improvement for Microsoft in a region where it has typically struggled, it’s still far behind its rivals. Since the consoles launched in November 2020, PS5 has sold 1,727,545 units.
Both, however, pale in comparison to Nintendo Switch, which has sold over 25m units since its launch in 2017.
Microsoft has made renewed efforts in Japan with its most recent console launch. Xbox Series X and S launched day-and-date with other territories (compared to a year later with its previous console) and Xbox boss Phil Spencer has said it intends to better cater to Japanese players this console generation.
Further reading
Xbox outsold PlayStation again in Japan last week as stock shortages continue
In the months after it launched Xbox Game Pass for both console and PC in Japan in April 2020, Xbox saw more player activity than in any time in its history in Japan, Spencer has previously claimed.
Following Microsoft’s acquisition of Bethesda, Spencer also called the acquisition of Tango Gameworks as part of that deal “a great step” towards achieving Xbox’s ambitions in Japan.
