Both the Xbox One and the PlayStation 4 have seen monstrous success during their preorder period, so much so that they combined to set new records for Amazon.com. Both consoles still have several months before they're released, and already fans and industry insiders have begun hyping up the machines. But which one has the edge on the preorder battle?
Microsoft recently bragged about the amount of preorders for the Xbox One, discussing in a financial meeting how the Xbox One is outpacing the demand that the Xbox 360 saw during the same time window before its release, Eurogamer reported.
"Xbox One, which will launch this fall, has already seen impressive pre-order sales as consumers have signed up to be the first to receive the new system," Microsoft said Thursday night. "In fact, Xbox One pre-orders are trending ahead of Xbox 360 pre-orders during the same time period and have already sold out at most major US retailers."
This news is also supported by Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot, who adds that the PlayStation 4 is in a similar position for Sony, as the Xbox One is for Microsoft. Guillemot revealed the news during a post-earnings call, Gamespot reported.
"Some retailers are saying--not all of them--but some retailers are saying that their preorders are two times what they sold at the last generation launch...At the moment they are really getting more preorders than what they saw before," said Guillemot.
Despite all this positive news concerning both systems, there is at least one area where both consoles are not exactly setting records. Kotaku is reporting that a poll in Japan reveals that both the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 have very little interest in the country. The poll states that 2.5 percent of those surveyed want to buy the Xbox One, compared to 10.9 percent of those surveyed who want the PlayStation 4. Japan is apparently totally apathetic to both consoles, which could spell bad news for Sony and Microsoft in the long run.
Despite the anomaly in Japan, the PlayStation 4 and Xbox One will be smash hits for both companies. It is hard to gauge which console has the advantage at this point, so gamers may just have to wait and see which console jumps out ahead once both consoles are officially launched.