http://www.eurogamer.net/article.php?article_id=74928 So about 30K sold, which is actually pretty decent for sales during a week in the UK. The problem would be if sales dropped another 80% (or something like that) next week, which could certainly happen given sales trends for the PS3. There seems to be a lot of attention on these sales given the big drop, but I'd be more interested in seeing the sales for next week and possibly the week after. Software sales were down too, with both Resistance and MotorStorm sales dropping over 60%, although they still lead the pack as far as console games go: http://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p/software/uk/latest/index_test.jsp&ct=110015 FWIW, charts from Ireland and Denmark:
not surprising. Sony has strong brand presence and loyalty from PS1 and PS2, so it shouldnt be shocking that they sold 165k PS3 in the first week. the problem is now people who arent diehards are probably trying to convince themselves or their spouses to spend the equivalent of almost a thousand US dollars for a game machine.
not too surprising. the price alone alienates a huge portion of the population and anyone that really wanted one and had the money got one immediately. Plus, there really is no reason to buy one (i.e. 1 or 2 good games) right now unless you just want to be 'one of the first'. i really dont see them start to make significant and steady sales for another year...and thats still no guarantee
Yep. And that's the number of people that I'd like to know. From all accounts, it seems like maybe 20K people a week feel this way in Japan, and probably around 30K-50K feel that way in the US (given sales from January and February). I'd be curious to see where the UK and, more importantly, Europe fits in this. I could see sales improving quite a bit if they put in a price cut this year (and not a stupid $30 cut either). That, or if EB/GS decides to do the ~$250 PS3 deal* in the US and wherever else they have a store rather than keeping it in Canada. Some games might boost sales from time to time, but I don't think there are any major ones coming until near the end of the year, where sales will get a boost anyway (unless Singstar is enough to get casual gamers in Europe to put down 425GBP/€599). Games like MGS4 and Final Fantasy may not even be released this year, and when they are released, they could be multiplatform (although I am somewhat skeptical on those two). I guess it depends on what you call steady sales though. I wouldn't doubt it if PS3 sales continued to plummet in Europe like they have in Japan, but also like Japan, they may be considerably higher than say 360 sales. So perhaps when it comes to worldwide sales, the PS3 might be barely tracking above what the 360 has done in the year and a half it has been out. Not that this really helps them out since the 360 will probably be seeing a sales increase as the year goes on due a price drop and some big titles (mostly in the US, but possibly in Europe and maybe even Japan too). Plus, I wouldn't say 360 sales were all that great last year anyway, so similar sales for the PS3 certainly wouldn't be all that great for Sony. *assuming you also trade in 8 games worth $8 and a XBX/GC/PS2 True. I think they would have seen a 60%-70% drop in sales even if the PS3 sold out during the week (only about ~50K were left over from launch IIRC, plus any small shipments since then).
