PS4 and Xbox One pre-orders may be closer than you think

For as impressive as the PlayStation 4's one million units sold in 24 hours is, the Xbox One may not be that far behind. The pre-order disparity, once believed to be heavily in favor of the PS4, could be closer to 10 percent in favor of Sony's next-gen console. This is according to recent data collected from IGN retail partners in the United States.

As surprising as this realization may be — given the negative publicity that hindered the Xbox One's reveal — it's actually quite in line with publisher expectations. Electronic Arts recently revealed, based on internal discussions with Microsoft and Sony, that it expects combined Xbox One and PS4 sales to hit 10 million by the end of March 2014. Microsoft has yet to reveal its in-house expectation for the Xbox One's sales, but Sony's Andrew House stated back at the Tokyo Game Show that he believes 5 million PS4 consoles will be sold during this launch window.

If these newly revealed pre-order numbers are any indication, Xbox One could match the PS4 in sales. Keep in mind, though, this is only indicative of U.S.-based retailers' pre-orders.

Ubisoft CEO Yves Guillemot also noted "lots of improvement in preorders that are coming on [Xbox One," adding that his company was "not worried at all. We think it will be a big seller as well."

Like the PlayStation 4, the Xbox One is sold out at practically every retailer for its launch. Microsoft has kept its pre-order numbers a little more closely guarded than Sony which revealed its pre-order numbers all the way back in August.

[IGN]