We’ve learned the Xbox Series X|S has outsold the Xbox One in Japan, some promising news following Microsoft’s enthusiasm behind the market.
The Xbox Series X/S’s sales figures are still dwarfed by its competitors, but things seem to be trending in the right direction for them as Microsoft noted Japan is their fastest-growing market.
It’s no secret that Microsoft has struggled to sell their Xbox brand in Japan. A complete opposite compared to Sony and Nintendo being Japanese companies who have found massive success in Japan and the United States.
However, a positive indicator is that their Xbox Series X|S has outsold the Xbox One in Japan, in less than two years being on the market.
In this report, they state that 2,345,975 total Xbox consoles have been sold as of February 6, 2022. The breakdown of which consoles were sold are shown below.
- Xbox – 472,992
- Xbox 360 – 1,616,128
- Xbox One – 114,831
- Xbox Series X/S – 142,024
As you can see from this list. The Xbox 360 takes up the majority of the sales, accounting for nearly 3/4ths of the total sales for the Xbox brand. Likewise you can also see the Xbox One sold pitifully with only a measly 114,831 units sold.
This information is according to the Famitsu (via VCG), which celebrated the 20th year of the Xbox brand’s life. It’s a little strange to celebrate a product that has sold rather poorly in the Japanese market, but I digress.
So the Xbox Series X|S surpassing the sale wasn’t a high hurdle to climb. The lack of sales from the prior two generations may have to do with the lack of titles on said consoles that would appeal to a Japanese gamer. The best selling games, as shown by the Famitsu magazine, prove that thought:
- Dead or Alive 3 (Xbox) – 271,149
- Star Ocean 4: The Last Hope (Xbox 360) – 208,521
- Tales of Vesperia (Xbox 360) – 204,305
- Blue Dragon (Xbox 360) – 203,740
- The Last Remnant (Xbox 360) – 154,493
Given how the sales figures count up, Dead or Alive 3 was easily a game that many Japanese players bought an original Xbox for. The other four games, which were released on Xbox 360, are games that are targeted towards the Japanese market.
Other third party exclusives like Blue Dragon and The Last Remnant were also titles that were exclusive on the console platform. Albeit the latter has since been ported to PC, as well as received a remaster for PlayStation 4.
This news proves quite promising for Microsoft. Where CEO Phil Spencer has gone on record in saying that they want to cater more towards the Japanese audience. He has also claimed that there has been more activity from Japanese players following the release of Xbox Game Pass in Japan than ever before.
