The Verge: Microsoft still won't say how many Xbox Ones have been sold

In a statement to The Verge, Microsoft says it no longer reports total console sales. “We are continuing to look at engagement as our key metric for success and are no longer reporting on total console sales,” says a Microsoft spokesperson. “We continue to see strong growth with time spent on Xbox Live, and look forward to bringing more unprecedented experiences on Xbox One, Windows 10 PC and mobile.”

Microsoft happily provided sales figures when the console first launched back in 2013, but the company soon stopped reporting numbers after it passed the 10 million milestone three months after Sony’s PS4. Instead, Microsoft has been largely focused on providing numbers on active Xbox Live users, instead of hardware sales. Even today’s blog post includes “Xbox Live players are up 13 percent,” and that 600,000 friendships have been forged through the new Looking For Group feature. There are also more than 1.2 million clubs on Xbox Live now.

The reason we’re not hearing about Microsoft’s actual sales numbers is because there’s a sizable difference between PS4 and Xbox One sales. EA let slip that Microsoft had sold around 19 million Xbox Ones in January 2016, at a time when Sony was boasting of 35.9 million PS4 sales. Sony has provided regular sales updates, and the company recently revealed it has now sold more than 76 million PS4 consoles. In the previous Xbox 360 vs. PS3 generation, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 console managed to secure 32 months as the best-selling games console in the US, before the PS3 briefly broke the record ahead of the PS4 and Xbox One launches.

Microsoft stopped selling the original Xbox One last August, ahead of the Xbox One X launch in November. While Xbox One sales likely struggled initially because of a $100 price premium over the PS4 and mismanaged Kinect launch, Microsoft now faces further challenges against Sony’s PS4. Game exclusives still matter in the console world, and Sony has been able secure some great exclusives last year and for 2018. Microsoft is now preparing for E3 next month, and we’re hoping to hear more about the company’s plans for first-party exclusive games, alongside a potential update to the Xbox One Elite controller and Microsoft’s new Xbox Live Avatars.

https://www.theverge.com/2018/5/2/17312606/microsoft-xbox-one-sales-2018-update

It seems that number of friendships created and number of chickens captured are more important metrics of success to Microsoft than how many consoles they've sold. This is a stark contrast to both Sony and Nintendo who continue to provide numbers.

We'll most likely see something similar to their game sales from now on. They already switched from number of copies sold to number of players for Sea of Thieves so they can prop up their numbers using Game Pass.

why do so many people care about how much money companies make?

I mean I get it if you are an investor, but this isnt a stock forum

Oh noes, I can’t play the sales war ?

120 million.... but don't tell'em I told you. That pesky NDA and all. :P

More consoles sold means higher levels of engagement which makes the company more likely to invest in the consoles which in turn brings more games. Don't know why people like to pretend that sales don't matter.

@biack_goku: Sony never revealed ps3 sales number last gen and instead opt to combine ps2, psp, and ps3 in one. Nintendo stayed quiet of Wii U sales, and instead opt to show the success of the 3DS and software sales.

So why should MS be treated as the villains here?

What are you talking about? Sony constantly provided updates on PS3 sales.

https://www.eurogamer.net/articles/2011-04-15-ps3-worldwide-sales-50-million-shipped

Wii U was straight up a dead console and Nintendo still provided us with the numbers.

https://www.vg247.com/2017/02/01/the-wii-u-has-sold-through-13-5-million-units-making-it-officially-nintendos-worst-selling-console/

@tryit: the same reason people care about your team or athele winning a championship or match.

It's competition.

i dont see how the two are similar actually.

the definition of 'winning' in this context is NOT that the game experience is better, its NOT that you enjoy the games more

it IS which company is making the most money.

now...if you were able to program fans could you think of anything better then to have the root for you making money as the most important thing?

And we'll never know ever again. Unless they start winning next gen, then they'll throw all that MAU and engagement shit under the bus exposing them for the frauds they are.

@tryit: it's a competition. We root for our companies. If you can't understand this simple thing, just give up.

@biack_goku: So, it was cool when the Sony didn't release PS3 sales, though?

but again, read carefully

...define the win

The 'win' can be anything. so why out of all the possible things people pick to define the win its them making money?

why not win on game play?

why not win on hours played?

why is it constantly defined as THEM making money.

There is an old saying 'its easier to just scam someone then to explain to them that they are being scammed'

what that really means is that often people who are on the outside looking in can have more preservative on odd behavior then the people within.

so...what, who defines 'the win'

Read a couple posts up. Sony still provided us with PS3 sales figures.

You're repeating something we have seen already on numerous occasions, and personally it makes sense what they are doing.

I bought a PS4-Pro recently just for the occasional exclusive that might interest me, and that's all. I'm not getting PSN plus, not buying any multiplatform game on it. I'm not the same kind of core customer whose main console is the ps4 and who buys all kinds of games on it. Sony should also examine these things, the engagement per console, it is important and times are changing.

@tryit: the sales define who won every gen since snes days.

Console sales matter because publishers care a lot about them when deciding budgets on games. This is why EA blurted out that there were 19 million bones a few years back. The data is collected and shared with the big wigs who in turn make decisions that affect the games we play. Sales matter. Sales always mattered. Sales will always continue to matter.

To conflate numbers sold with quality of experience, which have little to do with each other in todays market

In order to justify the one system they chose

its still not getting thru

the question is WHY....

the answer is because Marketing WANTS you to. its not a question of competition, its a question of why competition over the sales figures of what someone else is making on your behalf

picture this.

If you were a marketing god and you could create magic. how delicious would this be

'get your fans to promote and celebrate you making money'

@tryit: you sound like that's not the main purpose of any company.

yeah it is the main purpose of many companies

but its not the main purpose of the CONSUMERS!

see how brainwashed it is.

you are the CONSUMER...you are not the company you are not even the investor.

you should be concerned with quality of play, not how much money the vendor is making

CONFIRMED FLOP

@tryit: I care about what I want to care, so what? You can't dictate about what I can or can't care.

@tryit: You don't get it... More console sales = more games for that console. Games will be given a bigger budget based on console sales. 3rd party companies will put more focus on which console will sell the most games aka making them the most money. MS will determine Xbox divisions budget based on how well it's doing, which = how much goodies/games they can afford to give to the gamers(us).

I would not purchase a console that sold 20million while it's competition has sold 90 million. The reason is I would feel like the lesser would abandon the console just like the WiiU, Betamax, or HD-DVD just to name a few. Numbers do matter for more reasons than listed in previous post.

They're trending behind 2 other consoles, of course they won't reveal numbers.

@tryit: no you can't, you have no power over me, lol, who do you think you are?

you, unlike Cloud, gave me a straight answer that pertains to my observation.

Thank you

I dont agree with the logic but at least its a reasonable answer

I choose my words usually careful. I said ' i could'

if you think a person who would be in a marketing position does not affect your opinion then the entire marketing industry is a waste of time.

The thing about marketing is that most people are completely unware of the effects it has on them. so yes, if I was in a position of marketing that formulate public opinion, yes I could affect it. but I am not....hence the choice of word 'could'

Both Sony and Nintendo have provided shipped numbers every quarter regardless of success. After all, if that weren't the case we wouldn't have known that Switch has already surpassed Wii U (by over 4 million now).

? Embarrassing, TLHBO!

lol @ lems damage controlling this obvious fail.

Did you ignore Sony doing this practice a gen ago? Regardless, it's a tactic they all do to impress investors that hold their stock.

Is pointless to reply that dude.. Leave it.. I don't even know why he is in system war lol

Omg who cares...

@ni6htmare01: I was writing a reply but have up halfway, let him think what he wants.

I'm glad that they dont, because can you imagine how many lems would be on suicide watch?

lol don't waste your breathe!

@FireEmblem_Man: Sony always reported how many consoles they shipped, stop lying. Sometimes they mixed PS2 and PS3 shipments together during the NPD early days but they always reported shipped. Even when Sony mixed numbers in NPD they always told us how many they actually shipped in fiscal reports. MS is the only company in videogames history to completely hide shipment numbers.

oh just let it go, its not funny or cute jesus H christ.

getting back on topic, all I am suggesting to you guys is that perhaps feel more passionate about ACTUAL game play rather than sales figures of companies.

and no, companies making more money DOES NOT always translate into better games

@hrt_rulz01: ? You obviously do otherwise you wouldn’t be in here damage controlling.

How am I lying? You basically repeated what I stated!

@FireEmblem_Man: It’s bullshit manipulating of history. Sony combined sales sometimes during the early days of PS3 but we always knew how many they shipped because they didn’t hide numbers like MS is doing now. Everyone is still trying to guess how much MS has sold because they stopped reporting numbers in 2015. Sony never did anything on this scale and for you to insinuate they did is a flat out lie.

Sony always gave us shipped numbers when they reached important milestones and we always had access to their numbers from the their fiscal reports unlike coy MS.

I'm not manipulating anything! Sony had a warehouse of PS3's before they did a price cut and bundled it with MGSIV! Retailers had a hard time selling PS3 stock in January 2017. They couldn't ship anything unless those retail consoles sold, which is why they made the PS Family for investors because the PS2 was still selling while the GBA was outselling the PS3 in the first few months.

Bah bah bah bah!! Whatever dude!

Oh yes, lets use live numbers, a mixture of 360, one and PC.

Worse than just telling us your low 30 mil or whatever.

Wow, just wow!

@FireEmblem_Man: Absolute nonsense. They still reported how many PS3 shipped eventually unlike MS is doing. You lied and said they hid numbers when in actuality they only muddied the numbers. Facts are neither Sony nor Nintendo have ever hidden their numbers in an embarrassing way like MS have with the Xbone. What MS is doing is unprecedented fail.

REALLY?

you actually believe a company making more money translates into better games...

lol