Update: Market research firm InfoScout has posted the following graph following data research on Black Friday sales:
Stay tuned for the NPD Group November 2014 figures which will release on December 11th.
Original Story: In America, there is no bigger sales day than Black Friday. Its significance is a major factor for video game hardware sales, propelling consoles that usually sell anywhere from 80,000 to 400,000 units per month into the millions. It goes without saying that succeeding on Black Friday is an objective for Sony, Microsoft, and Nintendo.
While all three console manufacturers have big deals this Black Friday, there’s one in particular that stands out: the Xbox One. Sony and Nintendo have been content with packaging several games into a bundle sold at normal MSRP, while Microsoft has gone beyond that with a $20 price reduction beyond its holiday price cut. The result is one that will undoubtedly affect the market share of all three companies.
Within hours of opening their doors there are already reports of Best Buy, Target, and Walmart selling out of the $329 Xbox One Assassin’s Creed bundle. User Vestal on NeoGAF even took a photo of stock at his local Target. Check it out for yourself and notice the absence of the Xbox One:
And here’s an image of stock at another Target from user Cornbread78:
Lastly, here’s exhibit #3 from a Target taken by user ViciousDS. Notice the Xbox One section on the right is completely empty.
It’s important to note that some retailers have just started selling these bundles within the past four hours, while many haven’t even opened their doors (i.e. GameStop). Heck, it’s not even technically Black Friday yet. Still, early anecdotes point to the Xbox One being in extremely high demand.
A look at Amazon’s Video Game Best Sellers list reinforces the notion that the Xbox One is performing well on Black Friday It shows the Xbox One at the coveted #1 spot for its first time ever. Hardware rarely finds itself in the top 5, let alone at #1 on the biggest sales day of the year.
The Xbox One’s reduced price is only part of the reason for its explosion in demand. If you’ve been watching Thursday Night Football today, you might have seen several Xbox One commercials. Microsoft has gone on a marketing spree this past month, following surprising success with its software line-up during Fall with games like Sunset Overdrive, Forza Horizon 2, and Halo: The Master Chief Collection.
Check Out: A Guide to the Best Black Friday Video Game Deals
We won’t know what this all means until sales charts are released. However, there’s no doubt that Microsoft’s big move this holiday season has had a huge impact. We’ll find out how well each console sold when November 2014’s NPD Group figures are released in early December.
