Microsoft predicts a ‘massive migration’ to Xbox One this holiday

Xbox One is in prime position to dominate next-gen hardware sales later this year following what was undoubtedly an exciting E3, Microsoft predicts.

The key to this swing away from PS4? The triple-whammy of Xbox One’s new Xbox 360 backwards compatibility, Halo 5: Guardians and Gears of War Ultimate Edition.

"A lot of people have been waiting for the next Halo; a lot of people have been waiting for Gears; a lot of people have been waiting for backwards compatibility," Microsoft’s Aaron Greenberg told GameSpot.

"We think having all of that coming this holiday; we expect we’re going to see a massive migration. We expect millions of Xbox 360 owners to migrate and move to Xbox One.

We see that the majority of people who buy an Xbox One today own an Xbox 360. So our fanbase has stayed very loyal. And frankly, they’re waiting for those new releases to come this year."

So far in 2015 PS4 has in the US outsold Xbox One every single month with the exception of April. However, Sony’s E3 conference was light on games due out this year and Microsoft’s immediate first party offer is undoubtedly looking stronger as we plough forward toward Christmas.

PlayStation’s European boss Jim Ryan this week, however, downplayed the significance of Microsoft’s backwards compatibility announcement.

We have experience of backwards compatibility. The earliest PS3 model was backwards compatible with PS2, and it is a much requested feature… but actually it’s not so greatly used,” he said.

[Microsoft’s news] was quite a complicated announcement and I’m not sure I fully understand it yet. And I suspect there might be a few twists in that particular tale. It is an entirely legitimate approach, and if you are seeking to upgrade 360 owners to Xbox One, it is a very logical approach to take.”