If Microsoft recently said that Xbox One X is having an “amazing first week” in North America and doing very well across Europe, the same can’t be said about Japan, a notoriously difficult market for Xbox consoles. Over the last 15 years, Microsoft had a really tough time competing against Japanese video games giants Sony and Nintendo, and releasing the most powerful console of the market in Japan didn’t turn the tables in favor of Redmond.
As reported by DualShockers yesterday (via Windows Central), Microsoft only sold 1,344 Xbox One X units Japan between November 6th and 12th according to weekly sales data from Media Create. The new console was the 8th best-selling console in the country last week, far behind the Nintendo Swich (#1 at 79,959 units) and Sony’s PS4 (#2 with 20,021 units sold). As for the standard Xbox One, it only sold an abysmal 121 units during the same period.
It’s worth noting that Xbox One X Japan pre-orders did sell out before the console’s worldwide release on November 7, and it’s safe to assume that Microsoft didn’t ship a lot units in the country ahead of the big launch. Still, being the most powerful console in the market doesn’t really matter in Japan, where the much less powerful Nintendo Switch reigns supreme. The portable console has been exceeding expectations since launch, and is now expected to achieve the same levels of success as the first Wii console. It wouldn’t be surprising if the Switch also outsells the Xbox One and the PS4 in the US during the holiday season.
