With both the next generation PlayStation 4 and Xbox One set to arrive later this year, the battle of sales figures has already started with both Sony and Microsoft trying to outdo each other in the only way they can until the consoles launch: pre-orders.
Compared to Sony recently boasting excellent pre-order numbers for the PlayStation 4 that is now roughly a million in number, Microsoft is yet to provide any information as to how its own Xbox One is doing in terms of pre-order numbers.
But recently, an anonymous Xbox One developer talked about the pre-order numbers for the Xbox One on Reddit where he specifically confirmed that Microsoft has just as many pre-orders for the Xbox One – if not more – compared to Sony’s PlayStation 4.
“When I saw reports of Sony having a million or 1.5 million pre-orders for the PS4, I didn't even think twice about it. We're not disclosing pre-order numbers at the moment for accounting reasons but I know for a fact we have just as many,” the developer wrote.
“Don't be bogged by published statistics. At the end of all this, what matters is the games you want to play. Which games will people go back to over and over. Go with that. Look at the list of exclusive launch titles for each console.”
The developer also added that he’s quite curious about how Microsoft will “put consoles on shelves at launch day given that almost every console we made and will make until launch are accounted for.”
It's hard to take the developer at his word considering his (or her) anonynymity, but hey, that's the Internet.
Reports of Sony’s pre-order numbers for the PlayStation 4 arrived back in September when Sony Computer Entertainment UK chief Fergal Gara told Videogamer that the current PS4 pre-order total (at that time) stood at over one million units with the company also expecting a sellout at launch.
"We're not disclosing the exact number [of PS4 units] that we'll have on day one," Gara stated. "Clearly we're working hard to satisfy a lot of countries. We mentioned 32 countries last night."
“The one comment I'll make about the pre-order number is first of all, it's greater than a million, and secondly, the UK represents a very healthy slug of that. We're undeniably seeing a sea change.”
Microsoft's Xbox One is currently set for a November 2013 release, and will retail for $499.