The Xbox One is off to a bounding start for Microsoft.
The company revealed that it sold more than 3 million Xbox Ones before the end of 2013. Microsoft released the console in 13 countries on Nov. 22, and it only took the device about five weeks to reach more than 3 million in sales.
“It’s been incredible to see Xbox One selling at a record-setting pace for Xbox, and we were honored to see Xbox One become the fastest-selling console in the U.S. during our launch month in November,” Microsoft marketing boss Yusuf Mehdi wrote in a blog update. “Since our launch, demand for Xbox One has been strong, selling out throughout the holidays at most retailers worldwide. We are continuing to work hard to deliver additional consoles to retailers as fast as possible.”
Xbox One is currently available for purchase from Amazon, Best Buy, Walmart, and other retailers. Sony‘s PlayStation 4, on the other hand, is still very difficult to find.
Xbox One went head-to-head with the PlayStation 4 over the important holiday season. Both gaming systems were difficult to find in stores in the days leading up to Christmas, and both sold very well in November, according to industry intelligence firm The NPD Group.
With 3 million systems sold, Xbox One is slightly outpacing the expectations of R.W. Baird analyst Colin Sebastian. He had Microsoft selling 3 million units worldwide before the end of 2013.
Xbox One sales >3M before end of 2013. Our estimate was 3M. Congrats to @yusuf_i_mehdi @majornelson @XboxP3 @aarongreenberg etc!
— Colin Sebastian (@Colin_Sebastian) January 6, 2014
December sales figures aren’t due until next week, which is when we’ll see how well Xbox One and PlayStation 4 performed in December. Microsoft will also report its financial results for the previous quarter on Jan. 23, where it will likely comment further on the performance of Xbox One.