Xbox One Game Pre-Orders at Amazon Skyrocket After Microsoft Reversal

It was clear that Xbox One pre-orders would pick up steam after yesterday’s announcement that Microsoft was reversing its course on the Xbox One DRM, used-game policy and online check-in requirement. What few stopped to consider was how much yesterday’s news would impact Xbox One games at Amazon as well.

Since the news broke yesterday afternoon about what’s being dubbed the “Xbox One-80,” multiple Xbox One titles have blasted up the “Movers and Shakers” page at Amazon. As of this writing, not a single PS4 game — or even one of the PS4 launch-day bundles — is listed in Amazon’s Top 20 Movers and Shakers. In fact, a quick review of the Amazon list shows nothing related to PS4 anywhere in the top 75.

Ubisoft largely owns the top 10 right now, thanks in large part to recent discounts on current-gen versions of Far Cry 3. As you make your way down the Movers and Shakers list, though, Xbox One games are the first next-gen titles you’ll see. Black Flag for Xbox One ranks 7th, having increased 169%; FIFA 14 ranks 8, with a 143% pre-order increase; Madden NFL 25 for Xbox One has slid into the #9 spot, with a 143% increase in pre-order sales; Watch Dogs for Xbox One rounds out the top 10 having increased 136%; while Dead Rising Day One Edition (125%), Quantum Break (118%), Forza Motorsport 5 Day One Edition (107%), Titanfall for Xbox One (98%), Destiny for Xbox One (85%) and Need for Speed Rivals for Xbox One (82%) round out the top 20 Movers and Shakers.

Moving down Amazon’s list, additional Xbox One games such as Call of Duty: Ghosts and Battlefield 4 are moving on up in pre-order demand, while no PS4 appears on the list until the fourth page of results. It’s not until the PS4 Launch-Day Knack Bundle, in fact, that anything for the PS4 even appears on the Movers and Shakers list — and that’s in the 77th spot.

It’s important to remember that the Movers and Shakers list doesn’t show total sales volume, or in this case pre-order volume. Instead, it shows momentum for specific games and hardware. Although the Xbox One has moved into the top spot for current Amazon pre-orders, Sony’s overall PS4 pre-orders at Amazon still hold several of the top-five positions, putting the PS4 still in the leadership position in terms of total pre-order volume. What had originally been one-sided momentum for the PS4, though, may have shifted slightly in Microsoft’s favor.

With that in mind, Sony still appears to have a significant lead in pre-order sales, particularly where the Launch Day units are concerned, but it may not be long before the Xbox One Day One Edition consoles are sold-out as well. It’s intriguing to see, however, that while Microsoft’s announcement yesterday was designed to make the overall Xbox One hardware more appealing to consumers, the Xbox One-80 news has apparently reaped some benefits for game publishers as well.