Update News
Microsoft and Nintendo brag about 2014 Sales
January 15,
in the year of our Lord 2015 -- The past year was a
fantastic one for the video game industry – and Xbox One ended
2014 with an unprecedented holiday season, becoming the
best-selling console in the U.S. in November and December.* In
fact, weekly average sales during these months outpaced Xbox 360
by 50 percent at the same point in its lifecycle.
We are extremely grateful to our legion of loyal Xbox fans for
their support. And to kick off 2015, we’ve got a new offer for
those looking forward to picking up an Xbox One for themselves.
Thanks to a strong, diverse portfolio of titles, Xbox One sold
more games throughout November and December in the U.S. than any
other current-generation platform*, with Xbox-exclusive titles
receiving eight Game of the Year Awards and 67 nominations from
the media. Also this Christmas, Xbox 360 became the best-selling
seventh generation console of all time in the U.S.* On the
strength of Xbox One, Xbox 360, and a strong games lineup, fans
spent more time playing Xbox this Christmas than ever before.
As always, we’ll also continue to bring top-notch app
experiences like the recently announced Sling TV and new apps
launched on Xbox One in 2014 such as Twitch broadcasting
to build on the growing list of popular entertainment
experiences that are open to anyone, with or without an Xbox
Live Gold membership. In 2014, users logged nearly 8 billion
hours globally in apps across Xbox 360 and Xbox One, a 50
percent increase from time spent in 2013.
We’ll also continue to improve the Xbox One experience through
regular system updates and we’re continuing to listen to fan
feedback to implement the changes fans want to see most.
“Since it launched last year, Xbox Feedback has been
instrumental in helping us best determine what our fans want and
expect from us, and it’s clear that the Xbox One wouldn’t be
what it is today without their valued input,” said Phil Spencer,
Head of Xbox. “We’re incredibly proud of the Xbox One and are
fully committed to ensuring it’s the best place to play console
games in 2015 and beyond.”
And the Xbox experience isn’t limited just to the console. The
Xbox team is continually working hard to expand and improve the
experience across myriad devices – including home gaming PCs,
soon to be powered by Windows 10. Our goal is to help PC gaming
flourish, and we’re excited to be helping shape the future of
Windows. Phil Spencer will be sharing more on the Windows
consumer experience at a Windows event on January 21, including
the role that gaming will play.
* According to NPD Group
Will Tuttle
Xbox Wire Editor in Chief
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Jan. 15, in the year of our Lord 2014 -- Wii U
established new benchmarks for hardware and software sales in a
single month in December. This helped total hardware and
software sales in 2014 increase by more than 29 percent and more
than 75 percent, respectively, over sales in 2013.
Nintendo 3DS also had a strong December, including its largest
month ever for first-party software sales. This was primarily
fueled by Super Smash Bros. for Nintendo 3DS, which has already
surpassed 2 million combined physical and digital units sold in
a little more than three months, and Pokémon Omega Ruby and
Pokémon Alpha Sapphire, which have combined to sell over 2.6
million physical and digital units in their first six weeks.
“Wii U had its strongest year yet thanks to the highly
anticipated software lineup and the introduction of the amiibo
platform,” said Scott Moffitt, Nintendo of America’s executive
vice president of Sales & Marketing. “Fans can anticipate
another strong year for 2015, especially with more highly
anticipated games like Splatoon and The Legend of Zelda:
Majora’s Mask 3D, as well as New Nintendo 3DS XL, arriving in
the first half of 2015.”
Other Nintendo highlights from the full 2014 year include:
Wii U
Mario Kart 8 and Super Smash Bros. for Wii U sold over 1.7
million physical and digital units and 1.3 million physical and
digital units, respectively, in 2014.
Total sales of amiibo figures in 2014 are nearly twice the sales
of Super Smash Bros. for Wii U.
Nintendo 3DS
In 2014, 16 Nintendo 3DS titles sold at least 250,000 units. Of
those titles, eight sold more than 500,000 units and three sold
over 1 million units.
In 2014, the top 15 best-selling hand-held titles were all
released on the Nintendo 3DS family of systems.