Chief of Japan’s Xbox division resigns following abysmal sales

It’s no secret that the Xbox One has been far from a hit in the Land of the Rising Sun, and now this is having its negative effects on the people in charge. As reported by Famitsu, a Japanese publication which focuses on video games, Head of Xbox Japan Takashi Sensui decided to step down following dismal sales of Microsoft’s latest console in that country. So far, the Xbox One has only managed to shift less than 39,000 units since launch, of which around 24,000 were sold within the first few days of being available. Sony, on the other hand, managed to sell roughly 322,000 PlayStation 4s during the first few days of its debut in Japan.

Takashi Sensui, the boss of Xbox in Japan, has resigned his post. Sensui will stay with Microsoft, but work at the company’s US headquarters instead. The move comes amid terrible sales of the Xbox One in the country, where the console has performed far worse than predecessor Xbox 360 or the original Xbox. Xbox One has now shifted 38,461 units in Japan since it arrived in September. The vast majority – 23,562 units – were sold over its first four days. Xbox 360 sold double that over two days when it launched back in 2005. The Xbox One suffered the lowest Japanese launch for any home console in recent years – well below Wii U (308k in two days), the PlayStation 4 (322k in two days) and any other machine from the last few console generations. Sales have since dropped off to just a trickle. 776 Xbox One consoles were sold in Japan last week according to numbers company Media Create (thanks, NeoGAF). In comparison, PS4 sold 12.4k and Wii U sold 9.6k. Microsoft has publicly remained quiet on the Xbox One’s performance in Japan, although one comment from Sensui emerged in October suggesting that the company was not pleased with its progress. “It’s not as though we’re satisfied with the current sales state,” Sensui said. “Taking the first step was very important, and as for how to permeate the market from here, we hope to continue to do our best.”