xboxoneMicrosoft has sold more than 2 million Xbox One consoles since the launch of the new machine 18 days ago, the company said this morning.

The announcement effectively brings Microsoft on par with Sony, which last week said it had sold 2.1 million PlayStation 4 consoles worldwide. The new Sony console was launched a week before the debut of the Xbox One.

“We continue to be humbled and overwhelmed by the positive response from our fans,” said Yusuf Mehdi, Xbox corporate vice president of strategy and marketing, in a statement. We are thrilled to see sales of Xbox One on a record-setting pace, with over 2 million Xbox One consoles in homes around the world. Demand is exceeding supply in our 13 launch markets and Xbox One is sold out at most retailers.”

New consoles often sell out in their initial days on the market, as companies are ramping up production and demand often outstrips supply. Because of that, these early numbers don’t mean a whole lot for the long-term competition between Sony and Microsoft, except to confirm that initial demand for both new consoles is strong.

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