UK Xbox sales figures
Didn't see the point in dressing it up with a fancy headline
Microsoft UK has confirmed the official ChartTrack sales figures for the Xbox in its first days in the UK. Its performance in the rest of Europe remains shrouded in mystery, and we've heard some pretty diabolical figures for Ireland on the quiet already. Microsoft has not yet confirmed how many it made available in the UK, but C&VG, breaking the news, conservatively estimates 80,000, of which 48,000 were apparently sold. To put that into perspective, Sony sold roughly 70,000 PlayStation 2 units in its first weekend. Unfortunately for Microsoft, PS2 would have sold a lot more if the supply was there, as evidenced by sales figures leaked to EuroGamer recently, which saw sales across the first couple of months spike regularly as new shipments arrived. Indeed, some weekly figures were as high as 30,000 more than a month after the console's launch. Analysts are already clamouring to adjust their estimates. As far as we're concerned though, it looks as though everybody who wanted an Xbox bought one. It'll be another week before we see how badly sales have turned downward, however. Meanwhile, although Microsoft has confirmed the figures, it has not issued a press release. We're waiting with bated breath to see how they spin this one. In terms of software, Metal Gear Solid 2 : Sons of Liberty topped the charts, followed by Halo. The next best selling Xbox title being Project Gotham Racing. Microsoft is also claiming a 2.5 game sellthrough per console - arguably the most impressive aspect of the lauch, but in a lot of cases online retailers hid non-bundled deals from immediate view, and obligatory bundles were definitely the order of the day in many of the high street stores we visited. Related Feature - Virgin sold 550+ Xboxen on launch night