Microsoft Clarifies Xbox One August NPD: Sales Only Doubled for Last Week of Month

CraveOnline: "Yesterday, NPD Group revealed its figures for software sales during the month of August. As usual, Sony and Microsoft responded with statements about hardware. The most eye-catching fact was that Madden NFL 15 sold better on PS4 than Xbox One, despite a strong partnership between the NFL and Microsoft and the introduction of an Xbox One Madden NFL 15 bundle.

The second big item was Microsoft’s statement that the Xbox One doubled in sales for month-over-month from July to August. However, the numbers didn't quite add up."

[Sev]

I've been a PS fan for a long time, but I'm really surprised by how large the gap is growing between PS4 and Xbox One.

[JonnyBigBoss]

In the information age, how a company presents itself means everything. Even hiccups aren't forgotten.

[denawayne]

In the Information Age, people don't think for themselves. They wonder around like a heard of sheep.

[DLConspiracy]

Popularity determines our interest in the information age. Experience and preference seem to come second. Besides most people who play games occasionally/casually (which make up a larger portion of gamers) buy what is a hot seller. Including games and any sort of electronics. Just the way it is. Both are great systems.

[Illusive_Man]

Well those that don't want to forget are missing out on a awesome and constantly evolving user experience, vastly improved multiplats, and an extremely good fall lineup of exclusives.

[uptownsoul]

@denawayne "They wonder around like a heard of sheep" ? You mean they "wander" (walk or move in a leisurely, casual, or aimless way)…If your going to insult somebody have the decency to spell correctly

[quenomamen]

By hiccups you mean straight faced lying right ?

[Mr Pumblechook]

Microsoft are finding that the PR tactics they used last generation (saying whatever they wanted the press to believe regardless of truth) just won't wash. Gamers and Gaffers are checking the veracity of their claims.

Too many times on Xbox Wire they have made bold claims and then used the asterisk to qualify them. Eg claiming certain multiplats are exclusive, claiming 5 million units sold to customers then withdrawing the claim - now this. Mistakes are understandable but how many times can they claim it's an error?

[Dee_91]

@quenomamen
Umm no.. their faces weren't straight.. they had a slight smirk which made it worse lol

[gameon1985]

Yet, you people manage to forget about Sony's hiccups for the PS3. Including the disastrous launch and the hacked that gave away peoples personal info. People just hate Microsoft because the media tells them to, they are unwilling to think for them selves when it comes to things like that.

[RiPPn]

@gameon1985: It took Sony an entire generation to get back half of their customers from the previous generation because of their missteps. It hasn't even been a year for Microsoft and yet people expect everyone to already forgive and forget. And when you compare, all Sony did was bring out a high priced console, claim rumble was "last gen" and have arrogant PR, these things all pale in comparison to the crap Microsoft tried to pull and also Microsoft as a company has a history of pulling in most other areas of business they compete in.. but again we should just forgive them because of a couple of games and because they do monthly updates..? Not this hombre.

[MightyNoX]

@JBigBoss: Well said.

[badz149]

first, Greenturd evaded the question about NPD numbers by giving BS answers and then when the numbers are out, they straight up lying about it too?! WTF MS? you think people and investors are THAT stupid?

[patterson]

For Microsoft, it sounds better to say "sales doubled" rather than, "we sold 100 last month and 200 this month". Just sayin'

[QuickdrawMcgraw]

Just sayin...has been over for a while now...can you dig it...

[gamer7804]

It's best to judge a company by its actions, not what they say. We are now in the Customer Age anyways, the Information Age has passed.

[fr0sty]

@denawayne

so by being more informed, by more sources, it is making people people more sheeplike? That logic doesn't work. People have always been like sheep, however now there are many ideas that never would have taken root 20 years ago that are thriving. The information age has changed us, and in some ways for the better.

[amiga-man]

MS = Mirrors and smoke

http://stateofthenation2012...

[lelo2play]

Not surprising. Microsoft made too many mistakes with the Xbox One.
One of the X1's biggest problems is that Microsoft lost one of the X360's biggest assets, gamers that only buy multiplatform games (COD, BF, Assassins creed, Madden, FIFA, GTA, etc). Those gamers are purchasing the PS4. The only way Microsoft can outsell Sony now, is with more exclusive games (big exclusives that sell consoles), but unfortunately for them, their library of exclusives consists only on Halo, Forza and Gears. Those exclusives sell consoles, but it's not enough. They need more...
At this moment Sony doesn't need many exclusives. Multiplatform games are selling the console.

[Viryu]

Actually, they have a bigger library of exclusives, but those are all games that were supposed to be multiplatform which Microsoft bought exclusivity rights for. On the other hand, Sony instead of spending money to limit the fanbase of third party games, creates games with their first party studios. It's this gen that people finally noticed, one way or another, that Microsoft is playing cheap and dirty.

[lelo2play]

@Viryu
"It's this gen that people finally noticed, one way or another, that Microsoft is playing cheap and dirty."

If you want to discuss something, discuss it... but please stop with your fanboy crap.
What exactly did Microsoft do "cheap and dirty" that Sony or Nintendo haven't done?

[gootimes]

"One of the X1's biggest problems is that Microsoft lost one of the X360's biggest assets, gamers that only buy multiplatform games"

Very true, good point! It was a bigger deal than people think last gen. I had a PS3 and it didn't bother me that certain multi plats had a bit of an advantage on 360. I wasn't a gamer that cared, but many did care, alot.

[aceitman]

And not to mention some people where left with a sour taste in there mouth when ms kinda left out the hard core gamer for the kinetic casual games

[gfk342]

How many clarifications have been given by MS? So many spins that the majority of time spent by MS is with the clarifications.

How about MS focus on games and exclusives. They have less than half of what Sony gives to PS4 owners.

How about decrease the price such as to correctly reflect the power difference.

How about give to early Xone adopters a free game for deceiving them that Kinect would not be ditched.

How about ask forgiveness to all X360 customers for buying 3-4 X360 because MS could not accept RROD, for the fact that all the money they cashed have not been invested in new dev studios and new IPs (same Halo, Forza, Gears) etc.

So many things could be done by MS instead of releasing spins and confuse people. MS still believes that we are stupid.

[Rockstar]

I'm not.

[Oner]

Was going to say the same exact thing.

[TheWatercooler]

Sigh... Why is it that Microsoft always end up having to clarify things. Nothing has changed with them

[HappyWithOneBubble]

I'm not surprise. Every Sony console have blown the competition away except for PS3 and that's because 360 had a year head start and good advertising. The economy was bad too. People couldn't buy a $600 PS3 at the time. Wii and 360 was the best choice. I'm glad Sony learned from last gen mistakes.

[PS3and4_HAS_GAMES]

Everything you said was correct except one thing. Ps3 was actually the better choice out of the wii and 360. Sony had the best exclusives last gen and best graphics. No regrets with my 600 dollar purchase at all.

[jmac53]

Economy wasn't bad till the beginning of 2008. Sony was arrogant last gen much like how MS came into this gen. Assuming gamers will buy whatever you give them and whatever price is their downfall

[Oner]

Maybe for YOU or where YOU lived the economy wasn't bad until 2008 but where I live currently (South West Florida) the economy started taking a hit around late 2005-early 2006 when the Real Estate crashed all around here.

[HanzoHattori]

I'm not surprised at all. The gap is only going to get more noticeable over the next 6 to 8 months.

[Magicite]

MS with their damage control again.

[Funantic1]

As long as the X1 beats the 360 sales, which it is doing, then it'll be ok.

[wodan]

lol Xbone sales had been lower than the X360 for while now but some people are still in denial.

OT: MS still tries to spin and mislead people i see.

[ABizzel1]

@Wodan

The spin is real, because these people are only looking at total sales, and not what each console was selling weekly or monthly during the same time.

In total sales yes the XBO is doing better than the 360.

In weekly and monthly sales the 360 DURING THE SAME TIME PERIOD IN IT'S LAUNCH (aka 2006) has been selling better than the XBO since January with only the first week of January, and the week before and during the release of TitanFall has the XBO outsold it during the same period. And the 360 sales were consistently much higher generally by 20k units, and in several cases 2x - 3x as much as the XBO.

So no it's not peachy for the XBO right now, but that doesn't make it a bad console, and as someone who owns all 3 consoles, both handheld, and a gaming PC I can say that none of the platforms are bad.

XBO is a good console. It's hardware isn't as good as the PS4's, but it's good enough. MS completely ruined the legacy the 360 built, but the XBO is still a worthy successor. The XBO may not be able to do 1080p in the majority of games, but resolution isn't everything, gameplay and fun factor are (then framerate). The XBO may be the size of 4 Wii U's lol, but it won't have a RRoD incident like the 360 did (hopefully).

The XBO does have a great OS (software), it does have some good games, it has come a long way since the reveal, and it's pretty much worth the asking price, especially if you've been able to get one of the promotions they've offered such as:

Trade in any game get $10 Microsoft store coupon (up to 5). Aka $50 gift card towards an XBO.

Trade in your Xbox 360 (or PS3, which is silly to me), and get $100 off any XBO console. $399 SKU, becomes $299 and if you have that $50 gift card $249 (that's more than worth the asking price).

Buy an XBO console or bundle and get 1 game of your choice free, + $50 gift card. So if you get a bundle that 1 game + the console + you get to pick your game free + $50 gift card = $399, and if you had the $50 gift card from trading games in you get all that for $349, which again is a goo deal.

There's no reason to hate the XBO anymore. MS tried to pull the DRM fiasco, but they've learned there lesson, and their sales are suffering because of it. It's all deserved, but if you you're remotely interested in an XBO, it's still worth it, because at the end of the day it's still a good console.

[Cryptcuzz]

"As long as the X1 beats the 360 sales, which it is doing, then it'll be ok"

Why? Do you have stocks or shares in MS?
Why would you be okay? I....don't get it.

[lemoncake]

Maybe you should properly read someone's comment before typing such a reply.

@the disagrees "it'll be okay" is not the same as "I'll be okay", sorry if you cannot grasp that.

[PS3and4_HAS_GAMES]

So it's ok they are in last place just as long as they do better than their last gen console..ummm ok if that makes you feel better.

[mcstorm]

He is right as long as it sells more its good for anyone. Look at the psv its not selling well and that was because Sony messed up with it and the line up of games is also poor. Yet I remember this site going on and on about how it would out sell the 3ds.

MS messed up with the Xbox one and the numbers show that but Microsoft are also trying to make things right again with the updates, exclusives and more. Sony did the same thing last gen with the ps3 it got off to a slow start had a bad name and Sony built up its ip's and ps3 name and it did well in the end.

There is nothing to say the Xbox one can't do the same. Ok it may not sell more than the ps4 but selling 100 milling Xbox ones is another great feet by Microsoft who hit 85 million on the 360.

[Spotie]

Well, relatively speaking, it's not. It WAS, but that was some time ago, before the XB1 had a worse March(or was it April?) than any month the 360 ever had. Since then- and possibly even prior to that point- the XB1 has been selling so poorly that its total isn't even beyond the 360 anymore(relative to time on the market).

[IndoAssassin]

You Spin my head round baby right round.

[Tetsdah]

Like a record baby round round round round

[Kurisu]

*Right round, round round =p

[Master-H]

Anybody else feeling dizzy ?

[Cryptcuzz]

Dizzy, no, nauseous yes!

[Macdaddy71]

I hate all this BS dang they so many 360 gamers not bought X1 yet, And NO!!! 360 gamers not buying ps4 the ones that does buy both like me

[OculusRift]

Call and have your English teacher fired.

[MasterCornholio]

There are a lot of 360 owners who bought a PS4 instead of an Xbox One.

How else would you explain the gulf in sales when the previous systems sold about the same?

[isa_scout]

I think he's saying 360 owners are cheap bastards that refuse to upgrade because they're absolutely rolling in quality exclusive games that are keeping them wrapped up....lol What was the last quality exclusive? Halo 4... I had a 360 and it felt like a Barron wasteland these last few years(with the exception of Halo 4 which I loved).
If anything it's the PS3 guys that haven't switched over to new-gen consoles as they actually have exclusives still releasing on the PS3. Some people are to far gone, and beyond saving. As hard as it is MasterCornholio we need to learn just to walk on by the guys with their heads in the sand. I do wonder though, what their excuse will be in a couple years time when the PS4 is throwing haymakers at the XboxOne reminiscent of the PS2 era?

[Themba76]

actually im a 360 gamer and an original xbox gamer who didn't buy a ps2 and I didn't buy both. ps4 only here microsoft screwed up real bad.

[CaptainObvious878]

When a long time xbox fan that has had nothing to do with playstation, ignores the xbone for a PS4, you start to get a glimps of just how enormous the abyss is that MS created for themselves.

[Software_Lover]

I have no issues with the X1. Great console. Max the curse of brotherhood is probably my favorite game thus far this gen.

[denawayne]

Max is awesome

[n4rc]

Ugh.. again with the madden crap..

It sold more physical copies.. That's it.. Considering of the 6 people I know that are big Madden fans all got it through ea access, its a baseless comment..

Ms pushed madden, they also pushed the digital copies.. Without knowing those figures, its just speculation

[r2oB]

If I say that I know 12 people that got a physical copy at BestBuy for 20% off due to their gamers reward benefits (20% off any new game), does that triumph your 6 friends getting digital copies?

Also, why is it people think digital games are only purchased on Xbox? Do they not know digital games are also available on PlayStation (for longer than the competition)? Many PlayStation gamers got acclimated to digital games last gen when PSN started offering Day1 digitals a few years ago.

[Notramagama]

thats not how it works.... He's saying a large piece of the pie is digital. Every friend I have with an x1 is all digital...

[r2oB]

@ notramagama

I know how it works, and I know what he was getting at. My point was that it works both ways. If you ASSUME a large piece of the pie is digital for xbox, the same can be said for PlayStation.

[n4rc]

Because it doesn't need to be even..

Ms pushed the digital route.. There's ea access with digital benefits..

Ms could have sold 3-4x more digital copies then Sony.. Nobody knows, except being bundled makes it pretty likely..that info isn't shared.. But that doesn't stop anyone from simply assuming one company always wins no matter the topic

[Kayant]

@n4rc

"Ms pushed madden, they also pushed the digital copies.. Without knowing those figures, its just speculation" - Sure digital wise. Retail which is what NPD is about in the first place PS4 outsold it.

"Ms could have sold 3-4x more digital copies then
Sony... Nobody knows,"

If no body knows why are speculating it's up to a 3-4x gap digital wise?

MS isn't the only one pushing digital. PS4 had amazon digital codes, pre-order/pre-load all before XB1.

The data we have states that even with included software numbers from the bundles which are not usually counted in the top10 list but still counted overall PS4 versions still oversold XB1 versions.

[imt558]

Microsoft, what you trying to prove with that last week statement?

[Ninver]

That they still lost to ps4

[aceitman]

that is why I cant stand ms pr, they try to spin anything to make them look good , there ,they had people thinking they doubled the sales of the month , and it was just a week so they sold 30,000 the 1st 3 weeks then they sold 60,000 the 4th. still not good and im sure the ps4 still sold more than 60,000 that week .ps4 has been selling 48,000 a week .

[CervantesPR]

people always fall for what microsoft say, like the power of the cloud, DX12 and "free" dedicated servers for 3rd party's

the absolute only reason to buy an xbox one is halo and gears everything else will either come to PC or PS4 sooner or later and even gears and halo will never be as good as they use to, the paintings have different artists now. gears judgement was the worst gears and halo 4 was the worst halo ever made.

[quenomamen]

Funny how you casually left out that bonifide system seller Killer Instinct.

[Christopher]

ﺟ_ﺟ

[PS3and4_HAS_GAMES]

Killer instant is not a system seller and Microsoft's sales figures prove that.

[mrpsychoticstalker]

Funny. This is news? Lol. Can't wait for Forza... That's news!

[Christopher]

It's all news. MS has some good exclusives on their hands, but that doesn't mean they are doing well everywhere.

Kind of like how Sony is killing it in hardware sales and games, but they got some splainin' to do when it comes to PSN downtime.

[windblowsagain]

Yeah but, yeah but.

[hello12]

Its a good sign though they've started offering new deals, like two games for free with gold and an x box 1 for 400 dollars.

It might be having an effect of increasing sales for them. I can't say what the specific numbers are, but i have noticed lot of people posting on x box 1 reddit in the last week, saying they've picked up an x box 1 with this deal. One guy even said he felt he was robbing Microsoft, he got destiny, madden, 13 months of gold for 400.

Master@ Thats a good sign they doubled sales in the last week and that can only be seen as a good thing. If it continues it means something and if it doesn't continue it was just a one off.

Look it doesn't matter to me if Sony wins this gen good for them, but its better to have competition than no competition at all. Sony would just get lazy and you'll see far less AAA games than we see now.

Cell@ Like i said it was post from someone else now me Yes the deal exists to sell more x box ones how is that bad thing? Microsoft like Sony wants to sell as many consoles as they can is that not the point?

[cell989]

Robbing Microsoft? lol cmon you went too far, yeah that was a great deal, but there's a reason that deal exists, your friend is now bound to buy more games for his xbone thus making Microsoft more money.

Also I wouldn't doubt if by now Microsoft is turning a profit selling the xbone at 400 this isn't like past generations where manufacturers took a loss for every system sold.

[MasterCornholio]

"Microsoft has clarified, stating that the doubling of Xbox One sales during August were for “the last week of the month after Madden launched”. Basically, sales for the last week were a little less than twice that of the month prior, not the entire month’s sales."

Dang it Microsoft stop making yourselves look silly with this.

[cell989]

Kinect has been Microsofts downfall. Ever sense it was conceived it has been a downward spiral for MS. They lost focus on the hard-core crowd and went for casuals. They forgot casuals are not loyal and will abandon you the moment something more flashy pops out. That's the best asset MS had, hardcore gamers the ones that buy all multiplies and exclusives, all your peripherals, accessories, and services. MS is hurting right now, all those that were subscribed to Xbox live on 360 are migrating to PS plus and PS4.

[shadowT]

Halo will rescue the One

[MegaRay]

Even the justice league cant rescue it...

[kneon]

For a couple of weeks, then it will be back to normal.

[jjonez18]

Xb1 was roughly 150k ( so for that last week MS probably pulled 70k-80k)
PS4 was 190k
Wii U was like 65k iirc
3DS was 95k

Those are the numbers going around NeoGaf and the VGchartz forum

[Subaruwrx]

This is not the first time, nor will it be the last time, MS will have to clarify a PR statement about the Xbox One. It's becoming predictable, laughable, and sad and it comes off as being desperate.

[knifefight]

I must admit this round of console wars is taking some turns that I wouldn't have predicted two years ago.

[urwifeminder]

Nice I am really loving my console ATM the first time my pc has not dominated my time in 2years , the fact its not popular makes me relish it even more thanks for the joy MS.

[FlunkinMonkey]

You sound like you're in a cult.

[urwifeminder]

I am in the cult of entertainment and loving it.

[Azzanation]

Madden selling more on PS4 is probably because the PS4 have sold twice the amount of consoles... im shocked.

[neomahi]

Figures. Micro$haft is open about their sales figures when they're outselling but, when they're falling behind, it's still lies on top of lies. Aaron Greenberg can't ever seem to tell the truth either. Personally, if I were Microsoft, I'd fire him to shut him up. He challenged Geoff Keighley over the Tomb Raider matter and Geoff shut him down. Greenberg insisted the game was entirely exclusive to Xbox One but, Geoff had already pointed out Crystal Dynamics had told him it was only timed exclusive. Greenberg was later caught in another lie when it was revealed it was a timed exclusive through Holiday 2015. So, you still can't trust Microsoft. It's just one lie after another to save their pride rather than humbling themselves up and admitting they can't keep up and they screwed up by letting some EA bum run things.

[OllieBoy]

MS is embarrassing themselves so bad, wow. This is why I'm glad they'll never be market leader.

[Ryan741]

I'm genuinely shocked at how well the PS4 has sold, it has so few relevant games at the moment. Its run in to Xmas is staggeringly weak compared to Xbox. Next year looks better but a big question mark still hangs over the Order. A guy above said fans don't forgive etc but that's not true, remember Sony is the company that ripped you off on memory cards and told you to get a second job, that Sony is still there and are just playing to their fans at the moment with their little jibes to Microsoft and so fourth.

[Clarence]

I guess M$ loves to get caught lying.

[solidt12]

I think things will start to look better for Microsoft once they release some triple A exclusives. It's still very early in the game. I there will still be a big gap in sales though.

[Flames76]

Fact is XOne sales was up 14% in august selling 150,000 in america.Its easy to understand nothing hard about it.Sony fanboy writers really have to get a life and get out more.There are 3.9 million ps4s in america and 3.2 million X1s not much of a gap at all.Now the Xbox 360 selling 48 million in amaerica and the ps3 selling 29 million now thats a gap here in the U.S

[sovkhan]

I let you imagine if Murica is lost to Ms, which is the case right now, what the gap will be like worldwide???

That is a GAP!!! worldwide :)

[rapidturtle]

Microsoft stumbled out of the gate, just like Sony did last Gen. They have corrected their wrongs, and are coming on strong now. Getting rid of Kinect was a great decision. If you remember, Sony did the same thing with the PS3, when releasing sales figures.
Now that Destiny isn't all it was cracked up to be, and the upcoming Halo games coming out for the Xbone, that should help tremendously.
I am not a fanboy of either system. I had both last gen, and preferred the 360, and have had both this gen, actually selling my PS4 to get an Xbone last month. I just prefer the Xbox controller, although I do admit that Sony made vast improvements of the DS3. I also love Halo, and still don't think that Sony has made a game in the multiplayer realm that can stack up against it. With that Masterchief game coming out, I just couldn't resist.
It is great that both systems are doing well. Competition is a must to improve the overall gaming experience. Just look at how stale football games have been since EA gained the exclusive rights to the NFL. No competition means they can keep putting the same crappy product out year after year.