Record-breaking 165K PS3s Sold in UK, Plus Other EU/AU Sales

RC Cola · Mar 26, 2007

http://www.mcvuk.com/news/26261/Record-breaking-165000-PS3s-sold-at-UK-launch

New format becomes fastest-selling home console ever over its debut weekend.
ChartTrack has confirmed that 165,000 PS3 units were sold during the console's launch weekend.

The figure is three quarters of the total 220,000 UK launch stock for day one, and makes PS3 second only to PSP in the overall launch weekend sales stakes. The Sony handheld shifted 185,000 in its opening weekend back in September 2005.

PS3’s record-breaking debut for a home console comfortably beats the previous top seller Nintendo Wii, which sold 105,000 after its frantic launch weekend in December last year. Fellow format rival Xbox 360 racked up an estimated 70,000 at launch in December 2005.

The figure also means that Sony has not sold all of its opening weekend stock, something the platform holder claims is part of its overall strategy at retail.
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Things weren't quite as good in Australia:
http://www.gamespot.com/pages/news/story.php?sid=6168040&part=rss&tag=gs_news&subj=6168040

The crowds may have been quiet at midnight launch events last week, but Sony's PlayStation 3 still seems to have made an impact on Australian consumers over the weekend--a A$25 million impact, to be precise.

Sony Computer Entertainment Australia (SCEA) has told GameSpot AU that more than A$25 million worth of PS3 hardware, games, and accessories have been sold in the three days since the console's launch last Friday, March 23. SCEA had previously stated that A$20 million worth of PS3 gear had been preordered prior to launch.

The PS3 looks unlikely to break Australian records when it comes to fastest-selling console by units sold, however. While SCEA has not disclosed the exact number, a spokesman did confirm to GameSpot AU that the number of PS3s sold so far has "exceeded the previously published preorder number of 20,000 units."

At more than 20,000 units in the first three days, the PS3 looks unlikely to challenge the Nintendo Wii for the title of fastest seller in Australia. Figures from data trackers GfK Australia show that the Wii sold 32,901 units in its first four days after launch. The previous record holder was the Xbox 360, which sold 30,421 units in its first four days of availability. Before the 360, Sony's PSP was king with 27,055 units sold in the first four days. While the PS3 won't break the Wii's record, Sony's console does have the disadvantage of being more than double the price of the Wii in Australia. The PS3 retails for A$999.95 ($805), while Wiis will set consumers back A$399.95 ($322). The top Xbox 360 bundle costs A$649.95 ($523) in Australia.

Sony's A$25 million haul for the PS3 also falls short of Microsoft's take for the Xbox 360 when it was first released in Australia last year. At the time, Microsoft stated that it had sold between A$30 and A$40 million worth of consoles and games at launch. The Xbox 360 was released in Australia on March 23, 2006--exactly one year before the PS3.
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In both cases, do note that both the Wii and 360 were sold out when they launched, while the PS3 seems to be more or less readily available in both regions (and if it isn't now, it will be), kind of like the PSP (which holds the record for all systems...uh-oh). I think the Wii continues to sell out, so theoretically, I suppose it is more than possible that the Wii and the 360 could have sold more. No use in wondering though.

I'll keep an eye out on other reports from France, Germany, etc., where there is sizable amount of people as well. I've heard early reports from both regions, but I'll wait for official (or semi-official) numbers; I think the official launch in France was a total disaster, but I thought some other stores sold a decent amount (the country's largest retailer, with like 300 stores, sold 10K-15K in a few hours, and they were expecting to sell an additional 10K-15K during the weekend IIRC...I think the whole country only had 100K). Maybe we can go by the F@H globe instead (how many dots are there in Europe total?).

Some software charts from the UK:

Genji > Final Fantasy XII

rrj_gamz · Mar 26, 2007

Interesting...I believe UK has been fully HD for awhile, but not 100% sure...Its the cheapest Blu-Ray disc player/game console, so this makes sense...Austrailia, not sure about that...I still think they are sucking wind in the US...but overtime, will come around...

I did see Oblivian available for the PS3 this weekend...I may pick it up...I also saw the Godfather...

RC Cola · Mar 26, 2007

I can't quite remember what the HD adoption in the UK is like. It is pretty high compared to the rest of Europe IIRC, but I'm not exactly sure how it compares to the US. If 165K people can spend ~$840 on a PS3, then I guess they should have a high HDTV adoption rate too (although I guess HDTVs cost more over there too). FWIW, the software ratio was 1.65.

I recommend checking out Oblivion and staying away from the Godfather (haven't played it personally, but I've heard pretty bad things).

RC Cola · Mar 26, 2007

Here is the software rankings from Ireland if people care:

- 1 RESISTANCE: FALL OF MAN INSOMNIAC SONY COMPUTER ENT. SONY COMPUTER ENT.
- 2 MOTORSTORM EVOLUTION STUDIOS SONY COMPUTER ENT. SONY COMPUTER ENT.
14 3 CALL OF DUTY 3 TREYARCH ACTIVISION ACTIVISION
1 4 GRAND THEFT AUTO: VICE CITY STORIES ROCKSTAR LEEDS ROCKSTAR TAKE 2
5 5 NEW SUPER MARIO BROS. NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
7 6 CARS RAINBOW STUDIOS THQ THQ
16 7 TIGER WOODS PGA TOUR 07 EA REDWOOD SHORES EA SPORTS ELECTRONIC ARTS
3 8 THE SIMS 2 AMAZE ENTERTAINMENT EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
- 9 S.T.A.L.K.E.R. SHADOW OF CHERNOBYL GSC GAME WORLD THQ THQ
- 10 VIRTUA TENNIS 3 AM3 SEGA SEGA
- 11 FIGHT NIGHT ROUND 3 EA CANADA EA SPORTS ELECTRONIC ARTS
12 12 NEED FOR SPEED: CARBON EA CANADA EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS
6 13 DR KAWASHIMA'S BRAIN TRAINING NINTENDO NINTENDO NINTENDO
8 14 PRO EVOLUTION SOCCER 6 KONAMI DIGITAL ENTERTAINMENT KONAMI KONAMI
2 15 FINAL FANTASY XII SQUARE ENIX SQUARE ENIX SQUARE ENIX EUROPE
9 16 FIFA 07 EA CANADA EA SPORTS ELECTRONIC ARTS
- 17 VIRTUA FIGHTER 5 AM2 SEGA SEGA
- 18 FORMULA 1: CHAMPIONSHIP EDITION STUDIO LIVERPOOL SONY COMPUTER ENT. SONY COMPUTER ENT.
11 19 THE SIMPSONS: HIT & RUN RADICAL ENTERTAINMENT PLATINUM VIVENDI GAMES
10 20 THE SIMS 2: PETS MAXIS EA GAMES ELECTRONIC ARTS

Better formatting at:
http://www.chart-track.co.uk/index.jsp?c=p/software/ire/latest/index_test.jsp&ct=210015

If I'm not mistaken, Ireland buys more PlayStations per person than any other country...or something like that.

RC Cola · Mar 27, 2007

600K were sold in Europe:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/technology/6499841.stm

More than a million consoles were shipped across Europe on launch day last week with 600,000 sold.

Sony is hoping to retake its title as the console market leader, as Microsoft and Nintendo head the next-gen race.

Meanwhile, games firm Namco Bandai has said it is to use the PS3's Cell chip in arcade machines.

Microsoft sold 71,000 Xbox 360 consoles during its UK launch weekend, while Nintendo sold 105,000 Wii machines.

But both companies offered limited stock to retailers, which led to shortages.

Ray Maguire, managing director of Sony Computer Entertainment UK said the figures were a vote of confidence in the machine.

"Having broken the record for launch sales, we are now replenishing retail stock across the country," he said,

The first arcade title to use the PS3 microprocessor will be fighting game Tekken 6, Namco said.

While PlayStation technology has been used in arcade machines in the past it is believed to be the first time that the Cell will be used for games not running on Sony's console.

Namco Bandai has sold its PlayStation 2 arcade technology to other firms, but it is still undecided about whether to sell its PS3 Cell-based technology, a spokeswoman for the firm said.
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They seem to be off to a nice start in Europe. Let's see if they can keep it up (if NA/JP are any indication, that will be a big problem).

I guess this puts the PS3 at around 2.5M WW (~1.1M NA, ~800K JP, ~600K in EU). Wii is probably around 5M-6M (about 1.9M in both JP and NA, don't know about EU, but I'd guess around the same). And I'd guess the 360 is maybe around 7M-8M (~5M US, ~400K in JP, maybe half of US total in EU?). I wish we had better EU numbers so I wouldn't have to guess on so much. Or at least numbers that were easier to find (perhaps I missed some updates on 360 and Wii numbers).

BTW, OT but did you guys know that the PSP was the 2nd best-selling system last year around the world (DS was number 1 of course). Never would have guessed that...thought it would be behind the PS2 for sure, and probably the 360 too.

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