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[MauroNL]

Xbox One is finally going to be available in most other countries (defined Tier 2 by Microsoft) this September. I thought it would be interesting to hear how the Xbox One stacks up now 10 months after the official release. I work in a big retail store in one of the Tier 2 countries (Netherlands) and I’d love to share how the Xbox One is going to sell, what the ratio between Kinect-less and Kinect SKU’s will be and what the most popular games are nowadays. Some comparison with the PS4 will also be interesting, though that will probably be a little unfair since there were no aligned launches. First, let’s start off with the list of countries and dates Xbox One will be rolled out to this month.

9/2: Chile and Colombia
9/4: Japan
9/5: Belgium, Czech Republic, Denmark, Finland, Greece, Hungary, Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Saudi Arabia, Slovakia, Sweden, Switzerland, Turkey, United Arab Emirates
9/15: Israel
9/23: Hong Kong, India, Korea, Singapore, South Africa, Taiwan
9/23: China
9/26: Russia

So let me share my story this far. Microsoft last year announced a few months before release the Xbox One would be delayed in some countries including the Netherlands. I for one was bummed out, because I wanted one from the start. Fortunately I imported one pretty easily through Amazon Germany, so in the end it wasn’t a big deal for me. After the horrible Xbox One reveal and following E3 in 2013 there was little to no hype anyway for the Xbox One in the Netherlands. The PS4 was the big new console, and Netherlands has always been a Sony country, and it became even more clear now. PS4 launch was amazing we have sold about 600 PS4’s since launch, which is a damn high number, considering the console was severly supply constrained up until June/July.

Now September, 10 months since release, Xbox One is finally coming out in The Netherlands. Microsoft announced a pretty good bundle to counter the demand for PS4, with a €399 Kinectless SKU with Forza Motorsport 5 and FIFA 15 and a €499 Kinect SKU with the two same games, plus Dance Central Spotlight.

Our store has been selling Xbox One games since November, even though we didn’t have the console yet. The most popular game has been Battlefield 4 up to now, which we sold about 35 copies from, followed by Call of Duty Ghosts and Forza Motorsport 5 with about 30 copies. Dead Rising 3 followes with 25 copies and Ryse iirc 22 copies. We managed to start selling imported Xbox One consoles since April, including the Titanfall bundle. We sold about 80 Xbox One’s, even though we priced the consoles a bit higher then the SRP due to import fees and stuff. There is still definitly a market for the Xbox One, it’s just never going to sell like PS4. Same was the case with PS3 and Xbox 360.

So our store is getting about 40 Kinectless Bundles and 30 Kinect Bundles. Thusfar we have 6 pre-orders for each console, so the €399 bundle is not really doing any better then the €499 SKU, which is interesting. As for games, I can’t really tell how they wil perform considering you could get most (new) games all year through most stores even though the console wasn’t out. First party titles Forza 5, Ryse and Dead Rising are all re-released with a €49,99 price (usually games cost €69,99 SRP) all in the GOTY form with all DLC included, so that is a smart decision by Microsoft.

I’m interested to see how the Xbox One hype is in other Tier 2 countries, and I bet there are more fellow Gaffers that work in retail who can share stories. I will post again to share stats about the launch on Friday.

 

[Captin Quacker]

The Teir 2 comment always makes me giggle

 

[Mugatu]

Interesting and thanks for sharing.

I really hope the Xbone recovers. I did not like it at all when it was announced and at launch but with the changes and frequent updates I really like it now. I have my own and just ordered another for my brother's birthday. Whether anyone else likes it or not, Sony does seem to need more competition than they've been getting this generation so they start performing better - the gaming is good but otherwise my PS4 feels very spartan.

 

[hawk2025]

The number of pre-orders seem very low, but it's quite nice that they are giving the up-to-date versions of the games, and at a lower price.

 

[LoveIsOver]

It's JUST now coming out in Japan? I thought it came out in Japan months ago. Interesting...

 

[watership]

(defined Tier 2 by Microsoft)

I like how one Japanese Microsoft guy in an interview a year ago saying something that could have been misunderstood, has somehow morphed into 'official' Microsoft roll out language. Be careful what you say these days, the internet is listening and looking for lols.

 

[Lucreto]

Fortunately I imported one pretty easily through Amazon Germany, so in the end it wasn’t a big deal for me

I know lots of other people who did the same thing, I wonder how it will affect the numbers. If you really really wanted it you would have imported from Germany or Amazon UK and with the Euro you can drive to the nearest shop in in Spain, Germany or France.

The hardcore fans would have already bought it and the slightly less interested crowd who have waited this long might wait for a price cut.

 

[MauroNL]

I know lots of other people who did the same thing, I wonder how it will affect the numbers. If you really really wanted it you would have imported from Germany or Amazon UK and with the Euro you can drive to the nearest shop in in Spain, Germany or France.

The hardcore fans would have already bought it and the slightly less interested crowd who have waited this long might wait for a price cut.

Yes, exactly. That's why it's interesting to see how it will perform with the 'general' public so to say. I've heard stories of some stores where the Day One bundles with the two games has been sold out so people that want one are either stuck with the game-less bundle or the €399 FIFA 15 bundle at the end of September. I have seen very little marketing though, so Microsoft is not really putting in a huge effort I guess.

 

[Sakujou]

sad to see that customers are not treating the systems equally.

ps3 sold shitty in the beginning but outsold the xbox so easily.

the ps3 was already at the beginning doing quite well in germany, while the first multiplatform titles were so much shittier back then(remember ridge racer6+7, bioshock, loading time issues and the resolution)

now it should be equal because non of the systems have exclusive titles worth to be bought, but the ps4 already outsold the x1. for me, it doesnt seem to be a cheerful gen, this time.

the japanese launch yesterday was a pretty sad one. more employees than customers at the launch-party. what was that? a flash mob NOT to show up on that launch?

 

[Kagari]

sad to see that customers are not treating the systems equally.

ps3 sold shitty in the beginning but outsold the xbox so easily.

the ps3 was already at the beginning doing quite well in germany, while the first multiplatform titles were so much shittier back then(remember ridge racer6+7, bioshock, loading time issues and the resolution)

now it should be equal because non of the systems have exclusive titles worth to be bought, but the ps4 already outsold the x1. for me, it doesnt seem to be a cheerful gen, this time.

the japanese launch yesterday was a pretty sad one. more employees than customers at the launch-party. what was that? a flash mob NOT to show up on that launch?

Why, as consumers, are we obligated to treat anything equally?

 

[Faustek]

Sweden: uh....been able to buy it since day one.

But nah seriously not even midnight launch :/

 

[Occam]

Why, as consumers, are we obligated to treat anything equally?

Indeed, isn't this a good thing because it shows that despite all the advertising money could buy, most consumers did not opt to purchase the weaker and more expensive hardware with worse first party software prospects?

 

[SneakyStephan]

Indeed, isn't this a good thing because it shows that despite all the advertising money could buy, most consumers did not opt to purchase the weaker and more expensive hardware with worse first party software prospects?

But it's not fair! (lol)


I'm curious how it'll sell
Honestly I didn't know it wasn't out yet in Belgium, I could have sworn I saw it advertised in folders a few months ago and that I've seen the boxes around in stores.
Those would've been the imports or what?

I'm going to ask my brother if he is even aware it is out or is coming out, he was an xbox 360 addict who played nothing but halo and Assassin's creed...
He told me last week how he bought ac4 and watch dogs (ew) but he hasn't mentioned anything about xbox one to me.

 

[Guymelef]

sad to see that customers are not treating the systems equally.

ps3 sold shitty in the beginning but outsold the xbox so easily.

the ps3 was already at the beginning doing quite well in germany, while the first multiplatform titles were so much shittier back then(remember ridge racer6+7, bioshock, loading time issues and the resolution)

now it should be equal because non of the systems have exclusive titles worth to be bought, but the ps4 already outsold the x1. for me, it doesnt seem to be a cheerful gen, this time.

the japanese launch yesterday was a pretty sad one. more employees than customers at the launch-party. what was that? a flash mob NOT to show up on that launch?

That makes zero sense.

 

[N.Domixis]

sad to see that customers are not treating the systems equally.

ps3 sold shitty in the beginning but outsold the xbox so easily.

the ps3 was already at the beginning doing quite well in germany, while the first multiplatform titles were so much shittier back then(remember ridge racer6+7, bioshock, loading time issues and the resolution)

now it should be equal because non of the systems have exclusive titles worth to be bought, but the ps4 already outsold the x1. for me, it doesnt seem to be a cheerful gen, this time.

the japanese launch yesterday was a pretty sad one. more employees than customers at the launch-party. what was that? a flash mob NOT to show up on that launch?

Ps4 is the better console otherwise it would not be 10,000,000 to 5,000,000

 

[Amir0x]

I'm just happy it's finally going to be over with so people can end the hilarious talking point of "well it's not out in all these other countries that are literally a collective blip on the radar for any Microsoft console this go around so therefore the gap isn't really as big as it seems."

I'm glad the system will finally be "officially" out for those in these countries, ya'll can get proper support now for the systems. If you imported the systems, you can load in the appropriate languages for Kinect and whatnot too now, right?

 

[SneakyStephan]

I'm just happy it's finally going to be over with so people can end the hilarious talking point of "well it's not out in all these other countries that are literally a collective blip on the radar for any Microsoft console this go around so therefore the gap isn't really as big as it seems."

I'm glad the system will finally be "officially" out for those in these countries, ya'll can get proper support now for the systems. If you imported the systems, you can load in the appropriate languages for Kinect and whatnot too now, right?

Yeah about that...

 

[spindoctor]

Microsoft has decided to go Amazon exclusive with the Xbone in my country. The system will literally not be available at any retail stores. Well not officially anyway.

This is going to be interesting.

 

[MauroNL]

I'm just happy it's finally going to be over with so people can end the hilarious talking point of "well it's not out in all these other countries that are literally a collective blip on the radar for any Microsoft console this go around so therefore the gap isn't really as big as it seems."

I'm glad the system will finally be "officially" out for those in these countries, ya'll can get proper support now for the systems. If you imported the systems, you can load in the appropriate languages for Kinect and whatnot too now, right?

Well, they told us the box was delayed for localisation yet only the dashboard is translated and no voice commands or any other stuff is out at launch. Don't know about any regional apps or cable box contracts or whatever so maybe we'll see some announcements about that this week, but I doubt it.

 

[travisbickle]

Why, as consumers, are we obligated to treat anything equally?

To keep it competitive. If we don't buy the xbox1 how are MS going to know we want them to make a stronger, cheaper product than Sony next gen?

 

[SwiftDeath]

Lovely thread. I absolutely adore hearing about less discussed countries console sales if only via anecdotal evidence

 

[Miles X]

Ps4 is the better console otherwise it would not be 10,000,000 to 5,000,000

Very definitive there chap, since all the 180's the only real thing PS4 has on XB1 is the hardware advantage which is lessening as time goes on (games hitting 1080p on XB1 more often). Other than that it's friends, price, OS, exclusives, controller ect which determine which is better (which is entirely opinion).

Microsoft has decided to go Amazon exclusive with the Xbone in my country. The system will literally not be available at any retail stores. Well not officially anyway.

This is going to be interesting.

That is interesting, what country?

To keep it competitive. If we don't buy the xbox1 how are MS going to know we want them to make a stronger, cheaper product than Sony next gen?

You joke but that is exactly what happened with PS3 ... Sony recovered, PS3 got stronger as the years went on and they learned from their mistakes, and they delivered PS4.

 

[spindoctor]

That is interesting, what country?

India

 

[Jomjom]

Lovely thread. I absolutely adore hearing about less discussed countries console sales if only via anecdotal evidence

Same here! I'm hoping for some more anecdotes about the Japan launch. Not much going on in that thread except joke threads. I guess it could be that there's no anecdotes because nobody's actually at the launch though...

 

[Quotient]

Microsoft has decided to go Amazon exclusive with the Xbone in my country. The system will literally not be available at any retail stores. Well not officially anyway.

This is going to be interesting.

Which country is this?

EDIT: Beaten. Answer is India.

 

[Famassu]

From Finland. Xbox launch party in 2003 (Xbox 360 was similar) vs. Xbone launch party in 2014

 

[xxracerxx]

Spoiler

Didn't MS start calling them phases instead of tiers now?

 

[BriGuy]

To keep it competitive. If we don't buy the xbox1 how are MS going to know we want them to make a stronger, cheaper product than Sony next gen?

They're more likely to get that message if people don't buy the Xbone.

 

[Shin-Ra]

the ps3 was already at the beginning doing quite well in germany, while the first multiplatform titles were so much shittier back then(remember ridge racer6+7, bioshock, loading time issues and the resolution)

Ridge Racer 7 was a nice content and features improvement on RR6, running at 2.25x the resolution.

 

[ypo]

From Finland. Xbox launch party in 2003 (Xbox 360 was similar) vs. Xbone launch party in 2014

Ouch look at all that crushed black in the X-1 pic.

 

[KernelPanic]

Ouch look at all that crushed black in the X-1 pic.

But the colors pop.

 

[Guymelef]

Ouch look at all that crushed black in the X-1 pic.

lol

 

[The Last Wizard]

To keep it competitive. If we don't buy the xbox1 how are MS going to know we want them to make a stronger, cheaper product than Sony next gen?

 

[SneakyStephan]

Very definitive there chap, since all the 180's the only real thing PS4 has on XB1 is the hardware advantage which is lessening as time goes on (games hitting 1080p on XB1 more often). Other than that it's friends, price, OS, exclusives, controller ect which determine which is better (which is entirely opinion).

The hardware advantage is not lessening, that is impossible unless you think leprechauns came to switch out the compenents inside while you were sleeping.
edit: I was right, I checked both google and wikipedia and there is no such thing as microsoft leprechauns or microsoft gnomes.
Checkmate.

 

[Hison Yohannas]

Ps4 is the better console otherwise it would not be 10,000,000 to 5,000,000

Yep wii was soooo Mich better than them trash 360s and ps3s.

 

[tuna_love]

The hardware advantage is not lessening, that is impossible unless you think leprechauns came to switch out the compenents inside while you were sleeping.
edit: I was right, I checked both google and wikipedia and there is no such thing as microsoft leprechauns or microsoft gnomes.
Checkmate.

I found them on bing

 

[Kazuma Kiryu]

Yep wii was soooo Mich better than them trash 360s and ps3s.

You're on a roll today.

 

[AmFreak]

To keep it competitive. If we don't buy the xbox1 how are MS going to know we want them to make a stronger, cheaper product than Sony next gen?

You forgot the "/s" right?

 

[krioto]

Very definitive there chap, since all the 180's the only real thing PS4 has on XB1 is the hardware advantage which is lessening as time goes on (games hitting 1080p on XB1 more often).

I think this is a bit disingenuous, as we are at the start of the gen, and the result/impact of the hardware gap will only increase

 

[travisbickle]

Lovely thread. I absolutely adore hearing about less discussed countries console sales if only via anecdotal evidence

I'll keep an eye out in Seoul. There's badly dubbed adverts here on TV already so it looks like there's some kind of campaign push happening.

 

[libregkd]

Very definitive there chap, since all the 180's the only real thing PS4 has on XB1 is the hardware advantage which is lessening as time goes on (games hitting 1080p on XB1 more often). Other than that it's friends, price, OS, exclusives, controller ect which determine which is better (which is entirely opinion).

Well it also has the game advantage currently with just over 40 more games available on the PS4 right now. And I don't really see the quantity of games lessening over time. You could argue opinions on said games if you want but I'd rather have an ecosystem that has as many games as possible because more games available = more chances to find some awesome things to play. There are of course still some policies that MS is still holding onto, such as how they regard indies, that really should change.

 

[Guymelef]

You're on a roll today.

First day in the house.

 

[qa_engineer]

To keep it competitive. If we don't buy the xbox1 how are MS going to know we want them to make a stronger, cheaper product than Sony next gen?

Wut?

 

[SwiftDeath]

I'll keep an eye out in Seoul. There's badly dubbed adverts here on TV already so it looks like there's some kind of campaign push happening.

Did you by chance see anything about this?

Looked like MS tried a bit harder in South Korea than Japan I think

 

[Chamber]

To keep it competitive. If we don't buy the xbox1 how are MS going to know we want them to make a stronger, cheaper product than Sony next gen?

 

[RoadHazard]

I know lots of other people who did the same thing, I wonder how it will affect the numbers. If you really really wanted it you would have imported from Germany or Amazon UK and with the Euro you can drive to the nearest shop in in Spain, Germany or France.

You wouldn't even have to do that. At least here in Sweden the XBO has been available in many of the same stores that sell the PS4 since not long after launch. You could just walk in and buy one. And for less money than it will cost now that it's officially getting released here. So yeah, most people who really want this console probably already have it. Now, the "casuals" are a different matter, and there obviously hasn't been any marketing for the console here earlier (although I personally haven't really seen any now either, but maybe I've just missed it), but the PS4 has such a ridiculous mind share advantage that I just don't think the XBO is gonna do very much. People simply aren't interested.

 

[krypt0nian]

I'm just happy it's finally going to be over with so people can end the hilarious talking point of "well it's not out in all these other countries that are literally a collective blip on the radar for any Microsoft console this go around so therefore the gap isn't really as big as it seems."

I'm glad the system will finally be "officially" out for those in these countries, ya'll can get proper support now for the systems. If you imported the systems, you can load in the appropriate languages for Kinect and whatnot too now, right?

Then Tier 2 release can be crossed off the board. Then again we had a few people saying anything could happen in Japan with xbone so real craziness cannot be shut down.

 

[GSG Flash]

Very definitive there chap, since all the 180's the only real thing PS4 has on XB1 is the hardware advantage which is lessening as time goes on (games hitting 1080p on XB1 more often). Other than that it's friends, price, OS, exclusives, controller ect which determine which is better (which is entirely opinion).

Loooool wut

Do you even realize what you're saying? How can a hardware advantage "lessen" over time? The same hardware advantage for the PS4 over the X1 will remain forever. Software can attempt to mask it, but the advantage will never go away.

And I'd say Sony selling a more powerful console at the same price is the biggest advantage by far out of everything you listed.

 

[krypt0nian]

Loooool wut

Do you even realize what you're saying? How can a hardware advantage "lessen" over time? The same hardware advantage for the PS4 over the X1 will remain forever. Software can attempt to mask it, but the advantage will never go away.

And I'd say Sony selling a more powerful console at the same price is the biggest advantage by far out of everything you listed.

Maths and physics be damned!

 

[Mik2121]

Things in Japan aren't looking very bright (this is the Akihabara Yodobashi store, the one that always shows up on the "Japanese people waiting in line" pics).