According to a Famitsu report, only 31,226 consoles from the Xbox Series family were sold in Japan over 12 months. This is a drop of almost 75% compared with 2024, when more than 117,000 devices were sold.
To understand the scale of the failure, it is enough to note that in 2024, Xbox Series S alone sold more units than all Xbox versions combined did last year. This is the worst result since 2019 — the bleak finale of the Xbox One era.
The main reason for the decline is said to be Microsoft's aggressive pricing policy, which in a highly competitive market looks like image suicide. Over 18 months, the company raised prices twice: Xbox Series S went up by almost 38%, Series X by 22%. Taking into account last year's harshly criticized price increase for Xbox Game Pass, the offer simply became unappealing for the Japanese buyer.
In its confrontation with the dominant Nintendo and Sony, Microsoft chose to focus not on price, but on maximizing profit per unit, which led to the brand's near-complete disappearance from stores.
The problems are not limited to Asia. 2025 is already being called the "worst in history" for Xbox hardware worldwide.