Main reason stated as the shortage of PS4 units due to massive preorders

Dec 11, 2013 00:41 GMT  ·  By

The Xbox One came out in Australia on November 23 and is reported to be the country's fastest selling console, according to the Australian Financial Review.

Market research firm NPD Group stated that a total of 66K Xbox One consoles were sold in its first three days on sale in Australia.

The number more than doubles the previous record established by the Nintendo Wii in 2006 and even surpassing the previous record for consoles sold within a week.

Although Sony would not provide sales numbers for Australia, its sales are reported to have fallen short of Microsoft's across the same period during their respective launch week.

Sony has been struggling to meet demands for its console, warning users to expect shortages while the firm attempts to fulfill its pre-orders before Christmas.

“It's been overwhelming. I've been around since PlayStation One and we still haven't seen the kind of demand we're seeing now for PS4,” Michael Ephraim, managing director of Sony Computer Entertainment Australia, was quoted by VideoGamer.

According to official announcements, Xbox One has sold over 1 million units worldwide, while its main competitor, the PlayStation 4, has sold over 2 million.