PS5 sales are eclipsing the Xbox Series X/S in Japan, with Sony's next-generation console selling 118,000 units in four days after it launched. Microsoft's Xbox Series X and S consoles, on the other hand, sold 21,000 units over six days. Still, the Xbox has reportedly sold out.
Both consoles have obviously generated a great deal of hype and excitement in the gaming community, with demand for each system completely outpacing available supply.
According to Famitsu's research, these sales are taken from the console's launch window, which for the PS5 is November 12 to November 15, and for the Xbox consoles is November 10 to 15.
Famitsu goes on to say that Spider-Man: Miles Morales is currently the best-selling PS5 game in Japan with 18,640 units sold, closely followed by BluePoint's Demon's Souls remake selling 18,607 units.
It is important to note that these figures concern Japan only, and that worldwide sales numbers are unknown.
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The PS5 has been out in Japan and other parts of the world since November 12, while the Xbox Series X/S consoles have been on shelves worldwide since November 10.
While Xbox Series X/S sales in Japan don't look particularly high on paper, Famitsu is reporting that Microsoft's consoles are now completely sold out there. Xbox is traditionally not a strong seller in Japan.
Famitsu mentions that since both of the Xbox consoles completely sold out in Japan, retailers will be holding "lottery sales" if the console shortage continues.
Demon's Souls has sold 18.607 copiesFamitsu also reports Xbox Series X and S being sold out in Japan, forcing retailers to conduct lottery sales(Also, from what I can see, there is no split available re: XSX and XSS sales)November 18, 2020
Where does this stack up with previous console sales in their first week?
In Japan, the PS4 sold over 300,000 units in just two days of launching in 2014, which is a vastly larger number than the current PS5 sales. Bear in mind, though, we are in the middle of a pandemic, which is no doubt going to affect the launch in terms of available supply.
Xbox, on the other hand, released its Xbox One in Japan in September 2014 and sold a total figure of 23,562 consoles within its launch week.
In the grand scheme of things, this is just the start of each console's lifecycle – there's a long way to go.
