PlayStation 3 has sold out in Japan. All 88,400 of the beggars. This is perhaps less surprising than the news that the sun will rise and fall again tomorrow.
What IS fairly surprising though is that there were more consoles sold than games, with an attachment-rate of less than one game per console sold.
That’s right, according to figures released today from Japanese gaming bible, Famitsu, there were a total of 88,400 PS3s sold in Japan over the weekend - 33,800 of the 20GB model and 54,600 of the 60GB model.
The fact that less than one game was purchased per system can mean one of three things:
1) Japanese buyers were dead keen to get their new Blu-ray movie player (with added bonus gaming functionality) home to experience Sony’s dream future of home cinema.
2) Buyers were planning on selling the console on at a tidy profit. SPOnG will let you reach your own conclusion on that front.
3) Most people were taking their PS3s home to play all those backwardly-compatible games. Whoops.
In terms of the games, the top three selling titles were, predictably, Namco Bandai’s Ridge Racer 7: (30,300) with Gundam: Target In Sight (30,000) followed by Sony’s own Resistance (15,700).
What IS fairly surprising though is that there were more consoles sold than games, with an attachment-rate of less than one game per console sold.
That’s right, according to figures released today from Japanese gaming bible, Famitsu, there were a total of 88,400 PS3s sold in Japan over the weekend - 33,800 of the 20GB model and 54,600 of the 60GB model.
The fact that less than one game was purchased per system can mean one of three things:
1) Japanese buyers were dead keen to get their new Blu-ray movie player (with added bonus gaming functionality) home to experience Sony’s dream future of home cinema.
2) Buyers were planning on selling the console on at a tidy profit. SPOnG will let you reach your own conclusion on that front.
3) Most people were taking their PS3s home to play all those backwardly-compatible games. Whoops.
In terms of the games, the top three selling titles were, predictably, Namco Bandai’s Ridge Racer 7: (30,300) with Gundam: Target In Sight (30,000) followed by Sony’s own Resistance (15,700).
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Comments
SCiARA 14 Nov 2006 15:28
1/4
i wouldnt be surprised if its a mixture of the 1st two as opposed to the majority selling them on.
Joji 14 Nov 2006 17:06
2/4
You see this is what worries me. What would happen if everyone purchased a PS3 and next to no games because they care about the movies and media bells and whistles more? The games industry could easily go under because of inviting too much non gaming content. We are treading a dangerous path here.
Ebay takes a bite as game store sales dip, preowned games do well and investors worry about a market crash. I may be doommongering here for which I'll happily withdraw if I'm wrong but its a worrying trend. I hope I am wrong.
On a more positive note Ridge Racer and Gundam would have always sold because they are seasoned japanese brands, however its good to see Resistance getting good sales behind them. Seems that Xbox and Xbox 360 might at last be pushing japanese gamers to the delights of fps games, so even if MS didn't do so well in japan some good has come of it.
All three of those games look groovy too. Nice to see Sony doing another cool game.
Ebay takes a bite as game store sales dip, preowned games do well and investors worry about a market crash. I may be doommongering here for which I'll happily withdraw if I'm wrong but its a worrying trend. I hope I am wrong.
On a more positive note Ridge Racer and Gundam would have always sold because they are seasoned japanese brands, however its good to see Resistance getting good sales behind them. Seems that Xbox and Xbox 360 might at last be pushing japanese gamers to the delights of fps games, so even if MS didn't do so well in japan some good has come of it.
All three of those games look groovy too. Nice to see Sony doing another cool game.
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vault 13 15 Nov 2006 04:39
3/4
No one's gonna buy a sub par buggy DVD player for $600 that also can play games. It's an interesting theory, but not entirely plausible. Also, the PC games department has been doing well for over 20 years with all the computer can do.
tyrion 15 Nov 2006 08:48
4/4
vault 13 wrote:
Also, the PC games department has been doing well for over 20 years with all the computer can do.
Also board games, action figures and dolls still have more space in Toys "R" Us than computer games. They haven't been killed by the advent of electronic devices, interactive DVDs and the like.