Xbox One sales double after Kinect-less release, says Microsoft
In news that will surprise nobody, it seems that forcing people to buy a peripheral they do not want does not make good business sense.
Microsoft’s Xbox Wire blog is reporting that Xbox One sales have doubled in the US since the launch of the non-Kinect bundle.
“Over the past month, we’ve seen a strong spike in interest in our Xbox One console options, including the new $399 offering, and the amazing line-up of games announced during E3,” Microsoft said.
“Since the new Xbox One offering launched on June 9th, we’ve seen sales of Xbox One more than double in the US, compared to sales in May, and solid growth in Xbox 360 sales.”
The rise in sales could also be down to a raft of upcoming titles that many gamers will be keen to get their hands on – such as Halo: The Master Chief Collection, Sunset Overdrive, Forza Horizon 2, Assassin’s Creed Unity, Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare and Destiny.
Despite the positive spin being put on the sales figures by Microsoft, it will be surprising if the Xbox One actually outsold Sony’s PlayStation 4 in June.
So far since the release of the next-gen consoles in November 2013, the PS4 has outsold the Xbox One worldwide – the latest figures put the PS4 at 9 million units sold and the Xbox One at 5 million.
It will be interesting to see how the Xbox One sales figures compare in the UK. While the new Kinect-free console saw a price drop from of $100 in the US, in the UK it costs £379 for the Xbox One plus Kinect, and £349 without a Kinect – a massive saving of … £30, which is not even enough to buy a new game.
