Microsoft Sees 2016 as the Xbox One’s ‘Tipping Point’
In response to the Xbox One’s rising sales momentum, the company is looking at this year as the tipping point where the console finally hit its stride.
For a majority of the current console generation, Sony’s PlayStation 4 has been dominating the video game market with over 45 million units sold worldwide. The Xbox One followed in sales by a large margin, mostly due to poor launch decisions.
Things began to turn around for the system when it began offering backward compatibility with select Xbox 360 titles, a feature the PS4 had refused to parallel with the PS3. These decisions pushed the Xbox One’s sales past its competitors and the console has been gaining momentum ever since.
This year’s earlier release of the updated Xbox One S has given Xbox UK marketing director Harvey Eagle high hopes for the future.
“Momentum is really important in this business, because it gives confidence to retailers, publishers, and to consumers,” Eagle said in an interview. “We are giving them confidence that they have made a right point. I think we’ll look back on 2016 as a tipping point for Xbox One.”
Eagle added that Microsoft is in a great position to build on the Xbox One’s momentum into 2017 with the upcoming high-profile releases of Halo Wars 2 and Sea of Thieves, as well as their upcoming 4K console Project Scorpio. He also cited how providing backward compatibility has eased the transition for last-gen gamers.
“Our data shows that there is still a significant number of households actively using their Xbox 360 who haven’t upgraded yet,” Eagle says. “[The backwards compatibility list] is growing all the time and I think it is definitely a benefit for Xbox 360 owners, to know that the money that they’ve already spent on games won’t get wasted when they upgrade to Xbox One.”
With over 280 selected backward compatible titles available for play on the Xbox One, and the promise of true 4K console gaming on the horizon, their claims of an imminent “tipping point” seem largely correct.
Will Xbox One ever catch up to PlayStation 4’s sales? Do you think Project Scorpio will live up to the hype? Does none of this matter because the Nintendo Switch will become the best-selling system of all time?
Let us know your opinion in the comment section below and be sure to read these other Xbox One headlines!
Eric Hall2712 Posts
Phone-browsing Wikipedia in one hand and clutching his trusty controller in the other, the legendary Eric Hall spreads his wealth of knowledge as a writer for Don't Feed the Gamers. Be sure to catch his biweekly "Throwback Thursday" segment for a nostalgic look at trivia from the past.
