XBox One breaks record with a million consoles sold

More than one million Xbox Ones were sold around the world in the first 24 hours after the launch of the next generation console, Microsoft has said.

That surpasses first-day sales of the Xbox 360, the previous-generation model that went on sale eight years ago.

The new console was launched in 13 markets and the software giant said it sold had out at most retailers.

Sony said last week that more than a million PlayStation 4 consoles were sold in the 24 hours since its release.

In the UK, John Lewis sold its entire XBox One stock within two hours.

"With exclusive titles, a strong multimedia offering, plus a thoroughly re-worked Kinect motion control system, the Xbox One appears to be ahead of the game this Christmas," John Lewis gaming buyer Robert Hennessey told The Guardian.

"Time will tell which brand continues to deliver the goods, but for now, it's advantage Microsoft."

Microsoft added that in the first day of game play, fans killed more than 60 million zombies in Dead Rising 3 and drove more than 3.6 million miles on Forza Motorsport 5.