Following the news of yesterdays’ less-than-predictable pre-order numbers, the Xbox One’s momentum is holding fast. Having been made available for pre-order at Japanese retailers only some 48 hours ago, we’re already seeing the Day One edition sell out across several popular retailers. Given the brand’s less-than-monumental success in the region, it’s easy to say that this launch is already shaping up to be a successful interesting one.
As she is know for doing, the manager of popular independent games retailer Games Ma-Ya has given incite into her business operations, stating via her blog that the Day One edition of the Xbox One should out very quickly at her shop. A translated excerpt reads as follows:
Pre-orders of the Xbox One started today, and the limited Day One Edition Sold Out in no time. If the Xbox fans continue at this rate, the console will keep going like this. If it continues doing well, customers will be interested in the normal edition as well.
I think that Microsoft has been generous with the content of the limited edition in order to expand sales in Japan.
Keep in mind that she is referring to her smaller chain of businesses, and that this is not necessarily representative of the entire nation. It’s also likely that her allocations were much smaller than those of, say, any of the other retailers who’s sales charts we saw yesterday. The fact that she sold through her initial allotment isn’t much of a surprise though, as smaller independent retailers are popular among the niche gamers who enjoy the Xbox brand, as they usually have better deals and imported software that is unavailable at the larger, more mainstream stores.
Interestingly enough, the three largest electronic retailers we took a closer look at yesterday are offering discounts on most, if not all, Xbox One products. Currently they all feature a 5% discount on all hardware SKUs, while there are 10% discounts on select software. Deals on accessories vary by retailer.
Whether this is to keep sales momentum or to compensate consumers for the increase of the consumption tax, which has recently been considered one of the larger catalysts to the video game market’s depression. Regardless of the reasoning behind the discount, the momentum is continuing, as the Day One editions are still available at all retailers, and are still maintaining the 1st and 2nd positions on Yodobashi Camera and Amazon Japan’s listings, respectfully.
[via, Dualshockers]
[translation, Dai Bowery]
