WHOA: Xbox One Beats Out PS3, Wii U in Japan!

[IMPress Polly]

Big news! (Not really.) The Xbox One has finally surpassed the PlayStation 3 and Wii U in rate-of-sale terms in Japan! Neck and neck with the leaders in the Japanese gaming market! For the week ending October 21st:

PlayStation 4: 31,734
Switch: 31,563
Nintendo 3DS: 16,992
PlayStation Vita: 3,429
Xbox One: 77
PlayStation 3: 53
Wii U: 38

Why is Microsoft even in Japan?

[Common]

Which is the best one, I am going to buy one for my grandson

[The Xl]

Yikes, lol. But I don't think Xbox ever did that well in Japan .

[The Xl]

Which is the best one, I am going to buy one for my grandson

How old is your grandson? If he a teen or above he'll likely prefer Xbox or PlayStation. If he's younger, probably the switch

[IMPress Polly]

Common wrote:
Which is the best one, I am going to buy one for my grandson

It depends on what he wants out of his system the most, I think. I would definitely say either the PlayStation 4 or Switch though. That's because the Xbox One has the disadvantage of featuring the smallest library of system-exclusive games between the three major consoles. Microsoft has chosen not to really do system exclusives anymore, methinks at their own peril. Probably why their system is in third place (in rate-of-sale terms) even here in its native North America.

The advantage of the Nintendo Switch is that it is simultaneously a home console and a handheld, so your grandson could take it with him wherever he goes and play with friends using the detachable controllers if he wants. Learning from their mistakes with the Wii U, Nintendo has also released a large number of major first-party titles for the Switch already and, in a promising sign, support from third-party publishers is growing, which ensures that, in the future, there will also be Switch versions of most new multiplatform titles as well. For now, the major attractions to the Switch remain first-party titles that are a little on the kiddie side (Super Mario Odyssey, The Legend of Zelda: Breath of the Wild, Mario Kart 8 Deluxe, Splatoon 2, etc.), but the sort of third-party support that we're seeing emerge for the Switch ensures that that won't remain the case for terribly long: Switch versions of more adult games like Doom, Wolfenstein II, and more are now planned, and one expects that that will only be the beginning, as third-party support continues to grow.

The advantage of the PlayStation 4 is that, while not portable, it has easily the largest established library of games to choose from overall. It is also technically a superior machine to the Switch in terms of the graphical level and size of the games it can support. Uncharted 4, Grand Theft Auto V, Horizon: Zero Dawn, Destiny 2, and of course your annual Call of Duty, NFL and NBA games are among the most popular attractions to the PS4.

[IMPress Polly]

The XL wrote:
Yikes, lol. But I don't think Xbox ever did that well in Japan .

No, they haven't. That was kinda my point with this thread.

[The Xl]

No, they haven't. That was kinda my point with this thread.

Xbox will continue to do well in America, Nintendo will continue to do well in Japan, Sony will continue to do well everywhere. Same as it's always been.

[IMPress Polly]

The XL wrote:
Xbox will continue to do well in America, Nintendo will continue to do well in Japan, Sony will continue to do well everywhere. Same as it's always been.

Well, yes that's true, but...oh maybe I'd best just communicate my point with numbers. I highlighted the rate of sale in Japan in the OP. Here's the rate of sale for the three major home consoles in Europe and North America, as compared with Japan, for that same week:

Europe

PlayStation 4: 143,433
Switch: 49,213
Xbox One: 38,901

North America

Switch: 78,997
PlayStation 4: 68,595
Xbox One: 35,826

Japan

PlayStation 4: 31,734
Switch: 31,563
Xbox One: 77

As you can see, Xbox One is in a distant third place in rate-of-sale terms everywhere. Even here in Microsoft's native North America, they are selling only about half as many Xbox One systems as Sony is PS4 systems these days. But it is different to beaten by a 2 to 1 margin (North America) or a 3 to 1 margin (Europe) than by a margin of more than 400 to 1 (Japan). You see what I'm saying?