Microsoft announces 10 million sales (to retailers) of its Xbox One

It's no secret that the Xbox One has been struggling to keep up with sales of its main rival, Sony's PlayStation 4, but the fortunes of Microsoft's console may finally be changing. Microsoft announced today that it is about to pass a significant milestone, as sales of the Xbox One just keep increasing.

Microsoft's Yusuf Mehdi - Corporate Vice President of Marketing, Strategy and Business for the Xbox division - said today that the company will shortly "have sold in to retailers more than 10 million Xbox One consoles."

Now, that's not quite the same as sales to consumers, and what is not clear in Mehdi's statement is just how many of the ten million Xbox Ones sold to retailers remain on store shelves and in warehouses, versus how many are actually in the homes of gamers. Incidentally, Sony announced way back in August that it had passed 10 million sales to consumers, which should give you some sense of how much ground the Xbox One needs to claw back.

Mehdi also claims that the Xbox One is beating the PS4 in the United States. "As we head into the busy holiday season," he says, "Xbox One led generation 8 console sales in the US for the past two weeks."

Sales of the Xbox One have been greatly helped by Microsoft's launch of a much cheaper Kinect-free option for buyers and, more recently, by a $50 price reduction on the cost of various bundles, including the beautiful new white Xbox One with Sunset Overdrive.

Source: Microsoft