According to a notable British video game site MCV, the Xbox One sold 150,000 units during the first 48 hours of availability in the United Kingdom. This would be roughly double the sales volume that the Xbox 360 had over its first two days back in 2005. But what’s even more impressive is that MCV’s sources report that in less than a week after its debut, Xbox One is pulling even with the Wii U’s lifetime sales in the U.K., which just happens to be Europe’s most important video game market. Let that sink in: The Xbox One is already close to outselling the Wii U in the U.K. after just one week of availability even though the Wii U has been out for roughly a year now.
The European launch of Xbox One is not an unmitigated triumph, however: The Guardian is now reporting that TV standard compatibility issues are making British television content via Xbox “unwatchable.” U.K. televisions operate on the 50 MHz frequency, while U.S. televisions use the 60 MHz frequency. It would seem incredible that Microsoft did not realize the issue in advance, particularly since TV integration is one of the Xbox One’s biggest selling points. But at this point it’s not clear how the issue is going to be addressed.
