Microsoft masterstroke: Hot selling Xbox One is now beating PlayStation 4

Microsoft did a complete 180-degree turnaround on its controversial always-online and used game restrictions for its upcoming Xbox One gaming console on Wednesday.

Within 24 hours, it seems to have won back its dissident fans and fence-sitters, who have now propelled it to the No. 1 slot on Amazon’s best seller’s list for pre-orders, relegating Sony’s PlayStation 4 to the No. 3 position (No. 2 spot is held by Sony’s hot video game, ‘The Last of Us’).

Gaming enthusiasts were outraged by the strict limitations that Microsoft planned to enforce on the Xbox One, and a huge number of Xbox 360 customers said they were not going to upgrade their consoles to the Xbox One, while quite a few said they would switch to Sony upcoming PlayStation 4, which is also $100 cheaper than Microsoft’s One and does not place any such restrictions on usage or connectivity.

However, Microsoft’s embattled gaming console Xbox One seems to have now regained its lost footing thanks to the American firm’s stunning no-regrets-reversal on Wednesday of its controversial always-online and used game restrictions.

Read: Xbox One vs. PlayStation 4: Microsoft takes a U-turn, bites back at Sony

In one fell swoop, Microsoft corrected its folly, realising that Sony’s PS4 was going to run away with the game, literally, if it didn’t sit up and smell the coffee. It did just that, and it has worked.

Gaming outlets like MCV are reporting that less than 24 hours after Microsoft had removed the Xbox One’s used games and always-online policies, the Xbox One had returned to the No. 1 spot on Amazon’s list of best-selling video game products (in UK, where MCV is based).

Microsoft-watchers will be glad it showed the courage of backtracking. Last week, Amazon ran a poll on their Facebook page which pitted the Xbox One against the PlayStation 4, and the Sony console won in a landslide.

According to TechSpot, the final tally for the Amazon poll was 38,984 for the PlayStation 4 and 2,162 for the Xbox One.

A visit to Amazon’s Best Sellers list now confirms that Microsoft’s Xbox One has come from behind and snatched the crown from Sony’s PlayStation 4, even if it is a temporary surge.

Whether or not the Xbox One will maintain this lead and stay ahead will be seen in the coming weeks. Watch this space. 

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