Official figures for the UK launch of the PlayStation 3 are, frankly, astonishing with the PS3 selling 165,000 units since launch on Friday 23rd adding up to £70,125,000 worth in cash. And there are still 55,000 PS3s in the shops, from Sony's initial UK allocation of 220,000.
The figures, confirmed to us by Chart-Track (and also reported in industry bible, MCV) indicate a launch that apparently hits other console launches out of the park - and will astonish the entire industry - and here’s why:
Nintendo Wii = 105,000.
Xbox 360 = 70,000 in December 2005.
In fact, the only gaming platform that comes close is Sony’s own PSP which sold 185,000 in its first weekend.
A quick piece of back-of-a-fag packet maths tells us that with the addition of software and accessories (this is not official!) the following figure (with rounded-up unit prices) becomes reasonable:
PS3 + 2 x first-party titles (£40.00) + 2 x third-party titles (£50) x 165K (£425) = £99,825,000 (an average of £605 per unit sold). Please bear in mind that this is indeed only one possible scenario. We await the official software figures with genuine excitement.
This is just under Sony UK managing director, Ray Maguire’s, prediction of a £100-million weekend. To get to that £100-million Sony would require games and accessories to an average of £181.06p to be attached to each PS3 sold.
That said, the figure of 165,000 PS3s sold is far above the expectations of the gaming media.
You can almost hear the sighs of relief from Sony!
It has to be said that this figure does strike us as being huge, massive, enormous and somewhat unfathomable given the general low-key launch. The figures for software are now of primary importance in providing context.
The figures, confirmed to us by Chart-Track (and also reported in industry bible, MCV) indicate a launch that apparently hits other console launches out of the park - and will astonish the entire industry - and here’s why:
Nintendo Wii = 105,000.
Xbox 360 = 70,000 in December 2005.
In fact, the only gaming platform that comes close is Sony’s own PSP which sold 185,000 in its first weekend.
A quick piece of back-of-a-fag packet maths tells us that with the addition of software and accessories (this is not official!) the following figure (with rounded-up unit prices) becomes reasonable:
PS3 + 2 x first-party titles (£40.00) + 2 x third-party titles (£50) x 165K (£425) = £99,825,000 (an average of £605 per unit sold). Please bear in mind that this is indeed only one possible scenario. We await the official software figures with genuine excitement.
This is just under Sony UK managing director, Ray Maguire’s, prediction of a £100-million weekend. To get to that £100-million Sony would require games and accessories to an average of £181.06p to be attached to each PS3 sold.
That said, the figure of 165,000 PS3s sold is far above the expectations of the gaming media.
You can almost hear the sighs of relief from Sony!
It has to be said that this figure does strike us as being huge, massive, enormous and somewhat unfathomable given the general low-key launch. The figures for software are now of primary importance in providing context.
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Comments
J_C_X 26 Mar 2007 20:22
1/16
You have to wonder though if Xbox 360 or Wii shipped those kind of numbers on their launch. I'm just saying thats all. PS3 owner here.
ozfunghi 26 Mar 2007 20:27
2/16
More importantly, Wii is still selling out across the globe within minutes of new shipments arriving in stores, after 6 million Wii's being sold, where as PS3 isn't able to sell out at launch. In other words, had Nintendo launched with more units... well, we'll never know.
It's all how you look at it boys.
It's all how you look at it boys.
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Dreadknux 26 Mar 2007 21:56
3/16
My jaw just hit the floor. Now I've picked it back up... That's pretty impressive, especially considering nobody really turned up to their respective launches. Sony can breathe a sigh of relief for ten minutes.
What's really going to test them now is the after-launch period. Microsoft isn't going to give them an easy ride with Halo 3 round the corner. Nintendo'll have to do some pretty impressive factory-pumping to meet their demand too... so we'll see how the success of PS3 is sustained after its launch.
After all, we probably shouldn't hold our breath just yet. The PSP, after all, had a record-breaking launch, and look at it now (if I really wanted to turn on 'sour grapes SEGA fanboy mode' on, I could mention the number of eBay scalpers as an attribute to sales - the number of which has far outweighed any I saw for Wii or 360 during their launches - but I won't. :D).
Mind you, this news should give at least a ray of hope for the Sony faithful. Home and LittleBigPlanet are just round the corner, they look pretty cool.
What's really going to test them now is the after-launch period. Microsoft isn't going to give them an easy ride with Halo 3 round the corner. Nintendo'll have to do some pretty impressive factory-pumping to meet their demand too... so we'll see how the success of PS3 is sustained after its launch.
After all, we probably shouldn't hold our breath just yet. The PSP, after all, had a record-breaking launch, and look at it now (if I really wanted to turn on 'sour grapes SEGA fanboy mode' on, I could mention the number of eBay scalpers as an attribute to sales - the number of which has far outweighed any I saw for Wii or 360 during their launches - but I won't. :D).
Mind you, this news should give at least a ray of hope for the Sony faithful. Home and LittleBigPlanet are just round the corner, they look pretty cool.
tyrion 27 Mar 2007 07:57
4/16
ozfunghi wrote:
More importantly, Wii is still selling out across the globe within minutes of new shipments arriving in stores, after 6 million Wii's being sold, where as PS3 isn't able to sell out at launch. In other words, had Nintendo launched with more units... well, we'll never know.
Well, according to one of our local retailer sources, they finally provided the last of their Wii pre-orders on the 22nd of March this year. They had 100 pre-orders before launch, had a launch allocation of 30-odd and it took them 3.5 months to supply their customers. Yes, they had a few more people pre-order during that 3.5 month period, but most people who enquired elected to wait for shelf stock.
Nintendo are definitely being hampered by not being able to meet demand, maybe they are working flat out, maybe they are not. Sony have, in the past, been accused of limiting supply to keep demand high, maybe Nintendo have tried a similar tactic. We just don't know for sure.
What I do know is that Sony have launched with enough consoles to ensure launch demand and still have ample stock on the shelves for walk-in customers. They have also had 165,000 of their consoles sell through at UK retail despite having a high price and missing a Christmas launch. Our friendly retailer above had 40-odd pre-orders for PS3 and sold more than that on launch weekend.
What if the Wii or 360 had ample stock to launch with?
What if the PS3 had a Christmas launch?
What ifs are fun questions to ask, but the facts are, Wii and 360 didn't have the stock and PS3 didn't have a Christmas launch, but PS3 sold more at launch than either of the others. Almost as many as them combined.
The next few weeks are going to be very interesting. Will the PS3 continue to sell? Will the Wii "suddenly" have ample supply? Will the 360 Elite launch and steal some Sony thunder?
I dunno about you lot, but I'm quite happy that we have a three-horse race once more.
sohereweare 27 Mar 2007 09:32
5/16
i fnd this news interesting. I work in a city in the UK with very competitive deals on the PS3
We had 11 pre-ordered consoles, and then another 8 to sell to walk-ins.(Only had a waiting list for pre-orders to commence 10-long)
We have yet to sell a single walk-in console, and one of the pre-orderers wanted a refund, so in total, we have sold -1.
We have sold 2 games and 1 accessory. Hardly the same as the Wii, where we had 16 pre-ordered 0 to sell to walk ins but by christmas we had a waiting list of 160 and as soon as we get delivery (about 10-20 a time) theyre gone within hlf an hour, we get enquiries roughly every half hour or so, and the list is still growing. A Usual week for Wii games is 25 games, and 0 accessories, as weve only had 2 deliveries since launch of remotes!
We had 11 pre-ordered consoles, and then another 8 to sell to walk-ins.(Only had a waiting list for pre-orders to commence 10-long)
We have yet to sell a single walk-in console, and one of the pre-orderers wanted a refund, so in total, we have sold -1.
We have sold 2 games and 1 accessory. Hardly the same as the Wii, where we had 16 pre-ordered 0 to sell to walk ins but by christmas we had a waiting list of 160 and as soon as we get delivery (about 10-20 a time) theyre gone within hlf an hour, we get enquiries roughly every half hour or so, and the list is still growing. A Usual week for Wii games is 25 games, and 0 accessories, as weve only had 2 deliveries since launch of remotes!
TimSpong 27 Mar 2007 09:40
6/16
sohereweare wrote:
i fnd this news interesting. I work in a city in the UK with very competitive deals on the PS3
We had 11 pre-ordered consoles, and then another 8 to sell to walk-ins.(Only had a waiting list for pre-orders to commence 10-long)
We have yet to sell a single walk-in console, and one of the pre-orderers wanted a refund, so in total, we have sold -1.
We have sold 2 games and 1 accessory. Hardly the same as the Wii, where we had 16 pre-ordered 0 to sell to walk ins but by christmas we had a waiting list of 160 and as soon as we get delivery (about 10-20 a time) theyre gone within hlf an hour, we get enquiries roughly every half hour or so, and the list is still growing. A Usual week for Wii games is 25 games, and 0 accessories, as weve only had 2 deliveries since launch of remotes!
We had 11 pre-ordered consoles, and then another 8 to sell to walk-ins.(Only had a waiting list for pre-orders to commence 10-long)
We have yet to sell a single walk-in console, and one of the pre-orderers wanted a refund, so in total, we have sold -1.
We have sold 2 games and 1 accessory. Hardly the same as the Wii, where we had 16 pre-ordered 0 to sell to walk ins but by christmas we had a waiting list of 160 and as soon as we get delivery (about 10-20 a time) theyre gone within hlf an hour, we get enquiries roughly every half hour or so, and the list is still growing. A Usual week for Wii games is 25 games, and 0 accessories, as weve only had 2 deliveries since launch of remotes!
That is fascinating. Without naming the company you work for (unless you want to email feedback@spong.com and go off the record off course) - what town are you in?
tyrion 27 Mar 2007 10:14
7/16
sohereweare wrote:
We had 11 pre-ordered consoles, and then another 8 to sell to walk-ins.(Only had a waiting list for pre-orders to commence 10-long)
Don't want you to give away where you work (place or shop) but are you in a non-specialist or a games-only shop? I'd expect more people to go to specialists (Game, Gamestation, Indies, etc) before other places like HMV, Curries or Supermarkets.
Of course, with the Wii being in such short supply, it's more likely that everywhere would get lots of pre-orders.
Thanks for your information and again, please don't lose your job over this, but can you give us some context?
Coxy 27 Mar 2007 15:29
8/16
Sorry this is a bit off topic, but wasn't the launch allocation 200,000 units?
I found this on the BBC Technology website here
If that's true then Sony has only just sold over half of it's launch allocation.
I found this on the BBC Technology website here
More than 200,000 consoles were made available on launch day in the UK, four month's later than originally planned
If that's true then Sony has only just sold over half of it's launch allocation.
Coxy 27 Mar 2007 15:33
9/16
Actually scrap that post, that was just stupid.
(This is why I don't post here very often!)
(This is why I don't post here very often!)
sohereweare 27 Mar 2007 20:43
10/16
heyevery1, me again. just tpo update you guys a bit more.....
weve had another aggressive day of annoucing ps3s readily available over our loudspeeker, and still havent sold one, but yet another pof the pre-ordered ones came back, un-opened, unwanted, so my store sales of ps3 now stands at -2
weve had another aggressive day of annoucing ps3s readily available over our loudspeeker, and still havent sold one, but yet another pof the pre-ordered ones came back, un-opened, unwanted, so my store sales of ps3 now stands at -2
OptimusP 28 Mar 2007 11:44
11/16
Hearing our anomynous source and seeing the great number of PS3's on ebay going for lowert then retailprice i wonder if someone keeps track of returned consoles...i expect a flood of those in the coming weeks.
tyrion 28 Mar 2007 11:47
12/16
OptimusP wrote:
Hearing our anomynous source and seeing the great number of PS3's on ebay going for lowert then retailprice i wonder if someone keeps track of returned consoles...i expect a flood of those in the coming weeks.
Based on what I've seen of retailer reports on software sales, yes returns are tracked and will be reported back to ChartTrack. It's up to them if they choose to publish those figures, it's more likely that they'll just subtract them from sales and pass the final figure on to Sony.
sohereweare 28 Mar 2007 22:06
13/16
groundbreaking news today, we sold a ps3! at long last! took best part of a week! hahaha
my stores total sales now -1
my stores total sales now -1
sohereweare 29 Mar 2007 07:10
14/16
another update, a friend in another store in my city has told me theyve only sold 4 ps3s since launch. This is our biggest competitor too!
tyrion 29 Mar 2007 07:48
15/16
sohereweare wrote:
another update, a friend in another store in my city has told me theyve only sold 4 ps3s since launch. This is our biggest competitor too!
Perhaps you just don't live in a gaming city/town?
If you don't work in a game specialist, does your friend? Or do you both work in games only stores?
Without any context I'm afraid your reports lack meaning. If you and your friend work in Game and Gamestation, what you are saying is extremely interesting. However if you work in Curries and Comet or Sainsburys and Tesco then with the PS3 being readily available, I'd expect your sales to be low.
sohereweare 29 Mar 2007 18:43
16/16
my friend works in virgin, im in a department store, but do a lot of games 15k+ a week on games alone (obv more in a launch week)
we refunded another of our pre-ordered ones today, so thats 1 sold, 3 refunded (-2) 10 left to sell
we refunded another of our pre-ordered ones today, so thats 1 sold, 3 refunded (-2) 10 left to sell