'Terrifying' Xbox One Ad Aims to Put Players In The Game

The new Xbox One ad is, well, a little scary. Microsoft’s latest commercial features a man hallucinating battle wounds in his bathroom while taking a break from Crytek's “Ryse: Son of Rome.” The man envisions himself sustaining the same injuries in real life as he experiences in-game.

The ad, which Forbes magazine called “terrifying,” ended with “if it was any more real, it would be real.”

Microsoft recently announced that its Xbox One, which launched in 13 countries on Nov. 22, sold 3 million units worldwide before the end of 2013. The next-gen console, which hit shelves in Brazil, Canada, France, Germany, Austria, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Ireland, Mexico, the U.K., the U.S. and Australia during its initial release, is touted as an all-encompassing source of entertainment.

Redmond, Wash.-based Microsoft (NASDAQ: MSFT) reported that the console sold 1 million units within the first 24 hours of its launch. These sales figures evenly matched Sony’s PlayStation 4, which reached consumers on Nov. 15 and also sold 1 million units within 24 hours of its shelf date. "Over 3 million Xbox One consoles were sold to consumers in 13 countries before the end of 2013," said Microsoft Chief Marketing and Strategy Officer Yusuf Mehdi. “Since our launch, demand for Xbox One has been strong, selling out throughout the holidays at most retailers worldwide. We are continuing to work hard to deliver additional consoles to retailers as fast as possible. Together, we ushered in a new era of games and entertainment with Xbox One.”

The company also revealed that its console was the fastest selling system during November in the U.S. and saw sales figures of 2.1 million units internationally by Dec. 11. Both Sony and Microsoft were somewhat overwhelmed by holiday demand, struggling to produce enough consoles to meet the needs of buyers. The Xbox One outsold the PlayStation 4 on Black Friday in the U.S., but this may be partially owing to the PS4 being unavailable at many major retailers. The information was obtained by real world analytics resource provider InfoScout, which collected data from 83,000 shopping receipts from various chains like Target and Wal-Mart. InfoScout also reported that the Xbox 360 outsold the PS3.

What do you think of the ad? Disturbing or brilliant advertising? Leave a comment below.