Sony’s PS3 record-breaking launch rocks Europe, tipped to outsell Wii and Xbox 360
By John Pospisil
Despite constant attacks and sniping by bloggers, journalists and especially the competition, the PlayStation 3 (PS3) has enjoyed a record-breaking European launch, selling 600,000 units during its first two days of availability.
European retailers say are enjoying strong demand for the PS3 and Sony said it sold more than €400m of consoles, games and peripherals across Europe over the launch weekend, according to a report in the Financial Times.
By comparison, Microsoft’s Xbox 360 sold 500,000 units in Europe in the month after its launch, while Nintendo’s Wii sold 700,000 units in Europe in the month after its launch.
In the UK alone Sony sold 173,000 PS3s in the first two days, compared to sales of 105,000 Wiis and 70,000 Xboxs during their first two days of availability.
Having delayed the European launch, Sony was able to ensure that it had plenty of stock available, reportedly, 1 million units across Europe.
A leading analyst, Paul O’Donovan of Gartner told the BBC that by late 2007 the PS3 will have “edged ahead” of both the Wii and Xbox 360.
“I would expect the PlayStation 3 to do well initially because a lot of PS2 users had been waiting for the PS3 to come along ,” said O’Donovan.
“The real issue for Sony is whether they can get back the momentum they had with PS2. The only thing that is going to drive that is the number of titles available.”
While many other commentators have dismissed the PS3 as too late, and too expensive, the early signs of success in Europe confirm that it’s far too early to write off the PS3.
No one should underestimate Sony.
We mustn’t forget that Sony has sold more than 110 million PlayStation 2 (PS2) consoles around the world, making the PS2 the fastest selling and most popular games console of all time. You would therefore think that Sony knows a thing or two about the console market.
Perhaps, Sony has chosen to take more of a long-term approach with the PS3, which is why the company chose to build a technically superior console, even if that meant it would have to come with a higher price tag. And if you’re building a product with a life cycle of perhaps five or six years (the PS2 was launched in 2000) what’s a few months delay if that extra time allows you to make sure you have enough stock.
Personally, I won’t be surprised if the European launch of the PS3 marks the turning point for Sony in this round of the console war. In which case, all things considered, it looks like Sony’s decision to delay the European launch of the PS3 was the right thing to do.
Related:
Entry was posted
on Wednesday, March 28th, 2007 at 5:11 pm
under
Read more entries by John Pospisil.
Stumble It!
March 28th, 2007
however…..the wii soldout completely, and there are still ps3 units available…so there wil always be the question if the wii would have sold more- had the stock been available.
March 28th, 2007
This commentary omits a number of mitigating factors.
1. Yes, the PS3 sold over half a million units in its first two days; however, Sony only had such a large stock to ship due to a serious delays (they are almost half a year behind) and limited demand in other regions (the PS3 has not been selling out in any region—unlike the Wii—so Sony has been able to produce more units for Europe). Also, while Sony sold a tremendous number of PS3s in two days, they did not sell all of the ones they shipped. The Wii’s sales in Europe (and everywhere else) have been limited by Nintendo’s ability to produce them. Sony doesn’t have this limiting factor. Sony has unsold units because they have limited demand.
2. Considering that the Wii has already sold more than 5 million units world wide, and leads the PS3 by over 2 million units, this does not necessarily indicate a turning point.
3. The assumption that the PlayStation brand will sell consoles is very questionable. The library of games a console has is usually the driving force. Take the N64 as an example. At that point Nintendo was the brand in consoles, but poor strategy on their part (such as resisting CDs, and not courting third party developers) cost them a great deal of market share. The PS2 had an excellent library of games, by far the largest of that generation, and customers’ loyalty to the PS2 had a lot of overlap with their loyalty to those game franchises. The PS2 had a number of exclusive titles, each with its own large fan base. For the PS3, almost all of these exclusive series are moving to multiple platforms. Final Fantasy is the notable exception.
4. While the PS3 is a more capable machine than the 360, for a developer to really tap into that power they have to spend a lot of effort (and money) honing their game to take advantage of the PS3’s architecture. This generally happens for exclusive titles, but not for titles that are also going to be released on multiple platforms. The end result is that the games will only look somewhat better on the PS3. (And that is only for those owners who have a HDTV, of course.)
What I’m getting at here is that this article takes a complex situation and uses rather paltry evidence to make a few short-sighted and simplistic claims.
Next time you’re looking for news about games, look elsewhere.
—Andrew
March 29th, 2007
First of all the UK sold 165,000 units on the weekend that is of the 220,000 units allocated to the UK.
Now its been a week and the UK still has not stold out and from sources most retailers have not recieved extra stock yet.
This is what is called the big bang effect in which demand dosn’t meet company expectations of supply.
A very recent example of healthy supply and demands is the fact that one recent console has now sold towards 6million units world wide and still demand out strips supply across the globe.
Now demand for hardware fuels supply of games and therefore from a publisher/developer point of view investing in developing games especially games for a solo console requires a very healthy user base and demand.
The target audience for the PS3 matchs that of the legendary un-successfull Neo-Geo, 3DO and to say that brand loyality would win thourgh much like SEGA’s with the Saturn and Dream Cast would be a very foolish mistake to make.
I could spend a lot of time drawing parallels with the past history but all I can say is: “History Repeats Itself”
March 29th, 2007
andrew: The Wii is a novelty console with a short life span…It’s already losing its momentum. The Wii is “selling out” because its NOT in high demand it’s selling out because there’s NO SUPPLY! (just as Nitendo has intended it to be, thus making the Wii look like a hot comodity) With that said go ahead and play with your Wii Wii and enjoy it for now because it won’t last (can anyone here say Game Cube) yea, and don’t forget to use your strap-on! Who defends the Wii? (oh, andrew does) It’s a freakin toy with a bunch of kiddie games. Whats the new Mario game andrew? Mario 54?
March 29th, 2007
Andrew: if you want to bring an argument to the table use another console not the Wii, However if you do, I will beat it down too! So bring it….
Now, if you want to talk SUPERIOR CONSOLES then we can talk about ANY of SONY’S poducts (i.e. PS3, PS2, PS1, PSP and Etc.)
March 29th, 2007
that was a very stupid rant considering that most of the facts were wrong because nintendo is not limiting supply and DS kicks psp ass Eric
March 29th, 2007
It’s so fun watching fan boys destroying each other, but don’t mindcarry on.
March 29th, 2007
Eric, you do realize that the not only is the wii selling out, but it is selling MORE. If you payed me to even PLAY the PS3, i would instead smash it in your face, and then proceed playing the Nintendo Wii. It has unique games, whereas the PS3 has mostly the same games as the 360. even guitar hero is going multiplatformer! now is the time for nintendo to take back its crown….so get used to it.
March 29th, 2007
@Eric
I don’t own a Wii, and I won’t consider buying one until they prove that they are dedicated to third party development. I am not some fanboy in awe of a brand name [e.g. "Now, if you want to talk SUPERIOR CONSOLES then we can talk about ANY of SONY’S poducts (sic) (i.e. PS3, PS2, PS1, PSP and Etc.)"]
And yes, at this point the Wii’s controls are largely a novelty. Nintendo (or a third party) may be able develop the controls into something more, but we will have to wait and see.
Your commit that “The Wii is “selling out” because its NOT in high demand it’s selling out because there’s NO SUPPLY!” does not make sense. Nintendo has sold around 5,260,000 Wiis, while Sony has only sold around 2,300,000 PS3s. (Check out http://nexgenwars.com/ for the current numbers.)
March 30th, 2007
actually, vgcharts is more accurate than nexgenwars….