From the coverage in the press, it was obvious that the May 21 Xbox One unveiling made a big splash. Now the viewership numbers are in, verifying the huge interest in the new generation of Xbox: More than 8.45 million people watched the Xbox Reveal event in the first 24 hours, rivaling one of the top-most concurrent streamed events of all time.
According to the May 28 Xbox Wire blog post, Xbox.com nearly tripled its previous concurrency record, with almost three times as many people watching the livestream at the same time, versus any other major event in Xbox.com history.
According to Akamai, Xbox.com’s streaming partner, the Xbox Reveal event was among the most watched live broadcasts delivered by Akamai in their history, nearly doubling peak traffic records and eclipsing high-water viewership marks set by events such as the 2010 World Cup, Royal Wedding in 2011, and 2012 election night.
In addition to the online numbers, millions of TV viewers also tuned in. Nielsen reports over 1.73 million people tuned into the briefing on SPIKE TV, and the Xbox Reveal event was the No. 1 television show for men 18-34 at 10 a.m. PDT on May 21.
The Xbox Reveal event also drove tremendous social buzz. According to Twitter, the event was the No. 1 non-sports social program across all TV networks and the second most social show on television on May 21, just slightly behind the NBA Playoffs.
During the event, Interactive Entertainment Business President Don Mattrick (pictured above) and others on the Xbox team showcased how Xbox One puts you at the center of all your games, TV, movies, music, sports and Skype. And how Xbox One is designed to deliver a whole new generation of blockbuster games, television and entertainment in a powerful, all-in-one device. If you missed the briefing, you can see highlights from the day here and a full recap on Xbox Wire.
Want to know more? Microsoft will provide more information soon, including at the E3 event, which is just 15 days away. Stay tuned.
Steve Clarke
Microsoft News Center Staff