Xbox One Sales Numbers Aren't Released Anymore, Here's Why

Last-generation, Microsoft was pretty loud and proud about Xbox 360's sales numbers. Why? Because for most of the generation it was beating the PS3.

This generation, Microsoft's fortunes have been completely different, and as a result so has the way it talks about hardware sales.

The PS4 recently surpassed 79 million units sold. In other words, it's about to pass Xbox 360 and PS3, and will likely finish amongst the best-selling consoles of all-time. Meanwhile, sale figures for the Xbox One are unknown, though rough estimates put it at roughly half of the PS4's sales, so 40 million, a strong number, but drastically lower than the main competition.

It's been over three years since Microsoft released any type of sales figures. As of November 2014, we knew it was at 10 million. As of January 2016, we knew it was just shy of 20 million. But since then, we've had zero word on how it is selling.

And this is because back in October 2015, Microsoft announced that it would no longer be releasing information in regard to how many Xbox One units have sold. Why? Well, at the time it didn't provide a reason, but the obvious one is that the PS4 is whopping it in this department.

That said, this week Variety reached out for comment from Microsoft, who reiterated that it doesn't share Xbox One numbers, however, this time, it provided a reason.

"We are continuing to look at engagement as our key metric for success and are no longer reporting on total console sales," said a spokesperson. "During Microsoft's FY18 Q3 earnings, we announced that gaming revenue grew 18% year-over-year, driven by Xbox software and services revenue growth of 24%, and Xbox Live monthly active users grew 1% year-over-year to 59 million. 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."

As you can see, Microsoft is focusing on engagement, which it derives from things like Xbox Live users. And indeed this isn't a bad thing to look at. Many people purchase a console and only buy a couple of games a lifetime. The value of that person is widely different than the person buying multiple games every year and paying for an online subscription. So yes, engagement figures are informative, good to have, and can reveal what raw hardware sales don't, however, having context of hardware sales doesn't hurt either. As they say, the more information, the better.

Whether Microsoft will change its approach for its next console, remains to be seen. Something tells me that it will come down to how it sells.

Source: Variety