Xbox One X sales up over 400% after fans seem to mistake it for Series X

[jwplayer XAsSjgNd]

After pre-orders for the Xbox Series X went live on September 22, Amazon reported that sales for the console’s predecessor, the Xbox One X, went up nearly 400%, possibly due to the fact that consumers are confusing the names.

Ever since Microsoft announced the name for the Xbox Series X, and subsequently the Series S, the company has gotten flak from numerous consumers about whether or not the names are too confusing, given their similarities to the One X and One S.

The names, on top of a normally annoying pre-order cycle of having to refresh pages and rush to local stores, meant that Xbox could have possibly been gearing up for a perfect storm of frustration when pre-orders went live for the two consoles and that might be just what happened.

Earlier today it was reported that sales for the Xbox One X had skyrocketed on Amazon, with many attributing that rise to the aforementioned confusing name.

According to Amazon’s “Movers and Shakers” page, which tracks popular items on the store that day, sales for the One X were up by 431%. While unconfirmed, some people on Twitter, like user AndrewAlerts, reporting that sales were up 747%.

• Read more: How to preorder Xbox Series X and S – date, retailers, price

A refurbished version of the One X also saw an increase of 101%. While not as significant as the above, it’s certainly notable.

Of course, there’s been no official comment for this rise from either Amazon or Microsoft, but the general consensus seems to be that it’s due to the confusing names and it’s easy to see why. One none-notable word distinguishing the two platforms more than likely doesn’t do enough to help normal consumers tell them apart.

It’ll be interesting to see if sales for the Xbox One X are also up at other retailers like Best Buy, Wal-Mart, or Target. Unfortunately, we may never know.

• Read more: Xbox Series X vs Xbox Series S: Which should you buy?

It’s safe to say that pre-orders for the next-generation consoles are not going well. After an abysmal start to pre-orders for the PS5 that involved a botched timeline on Sony’s end, as well as retailers pushing them out earlier than expected, Microsoft also screwed up their pre-order system for the Xbox Series X and Series S due to website crashes, checkout fails, and more.

That being said, allotments for all four consoles (if you count the separate digital version of the PS5) have been sold out for the time being. Here’s hoping more become available in the days to come.