Microsoft has not had the best opening year when it comes to Xbox One sales, as it is trailing the PS4 by almost 5 million units worldwide.

Like Us on Facebook

Earlier this month, Microsoft announced a $50 price drop coming to the holiday season, bringing the cost of the Xbox One down to $349. This is a limited time offer for U.S. customers, and Microsoft is now reporting triple the sales.

Microsoft executive Yusuf Mehdi broke the news "sales have skyrocketed since the new price took effect on Nov. 2. Compared to the previous week, Xbox One sales in the U.S. have more than tripled, which is exciting as more and more friends will be playing together this holiday. As we head into the busy holiday season Xbox One led generation 8 console sales in the U.S. for the past two weeks."

Sony has held top place in the U.S. video games market for almost all of 2014. Microsoft has hit the sweet-spot with its pricing for the Xbox One, ironically the same price as Sony's PS4.

Microsoft has also launched some big titles in the past few weeks, with exclusive "Call of Duty: Advanced Warfare" and "Assassin's Creed Unity" bundles. "Sunset Overdrive" has seen a lot of media interest, Microsoft's second exclusive release to receive positive critical reviews.

Xbox One sales were at almost ground zero before the $100 price-drop, with the removal of the Kinect. Afterward, Sony still performed better in most markets, but Microsoft did announce higher-sales worldwide. The new price-drop has tipped the odds - at least in the U.S. - in Microsoft's favor.

Sony's PS4 currently has 8.1 million sales worldwide, Microsoft's Xbox One sits at 3.3 million and Nintendo's Wii U has just surpassed 2 million, thanks to Mario Kart 8. Going into the holiday season, the only console without any strong exclusives is the PS4.

Microsoft has also gained a small foothold in China, currently the only video game console available in the region. This is in stark contrast to China's neighbor, Japan, with less than 30,000 Xbox One sales coming from the country. 

TagsXbox One, Xbox One sales, video game consoles, holiday season sales