It appears as though the next gen console war is off to a promising start, with both Sony and now Microsoft reporting that their respective PS4 and Xbox One consoles had achieved sales of one million in their first day.

Just after its launch, Sony tweeted that it had attained the one million sales mark, although this number only takes into account the North American market (US and Canada) at present. By comparison, the PS3 sold just under 200 000 units in its first week in North America, meaning that the PS4’s adoption in its first day was more than quadruple that of its predecessor in its opening week.

This bodes particularly well for the PS4, especially when considering that the console has yet to be launched in Japan and Europe.

Good news all around

The Xbox One similarly enjoyed a warm reception upon its launch in its thirteen launch countries (Australia, Austria, Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Mexico, Spain, United Kingdom, United States and New Zealand). It also racked up in excess of one million sales in its first 24 hours.

Worth noting is that the sales figures were measured by the number of user purchases, not just number of consoles supplied to distributors. This, according to Microsoft, both surpasses the reception of the Xbox 360 and sets a new record for the company. Microsoft also shared some interesting statistics with regards to a few of the Xbox One’s launch titles, all racked in within 24 hours. Apparently, more than 60 million zombies had met their permanent end in Dead Rising 3, 3.6 million miles had been traversed in Forza Motorsport 5, while 8.5 million enemies were slain in Ryse: Son of Rome.

“We are humbled and grateful for the excitement of Xbox fans around the world,” commented Yusuf Mehdi, corporate vice president of marketing and strategy, Xbox. “Seeing thousands of excited fans lined up to get their Xbox One and their love for gaming was truly a special moment for everyone on the Xbox team. We are working hard to create more Xbox One consoles and look forward to fulfilling holiday gift wishes this season.” 

Still waiting…

For local players though, it is the PS4 which bears the shortest wait for them to get in on the action. Sony’s new console is slated to launch here on the 13^th of December, while Microsoft have not yet announced when South African gamers can expect to get their hands on the Xbox One.