PlayStation 3 sales plunge 82% in UK
by Ludwig Kietzmann 
{ Apr 3rd 2007 at 1:24PM }
After obliterating records upon its launch in the UK last week, PlayStation 3 sales have come down to Earth with all the grace of a skydiving walrus using an anvil for a parachute. Citing the latest Chart Track data, a GamesIndustry.biz report discloses that sales for Sony's system have dropped by 82% in the last week. Having sold an estimated 165,000 units before, the percentage represents a drop of 135,300 units, resulting in total sales of 29,700 systems for the week.Previously, it was stated that the initial PS3 shipment for the UK numbered 220,000. With 55,000 units remaining after the first week and without considering any subsequent stock, it means that the PS3 sold an estimated 54% of its remaining stock. Compared to the 75% of stock sold in its initial week, it still makes for a notable 21% drop. Though the days are early yet and the PS3's overall performance in the country (and the rest of Europe) has yet to be assessed, things look to have slowed down quickly and considerably.
[Thanks, Efren]
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Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
silkylove @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:26PM
Zoinks! D:
DRO4LIFE @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:28PM
The visual images of "Skydiving Walrus using an anvil for a parachute" ... simply breathtaking. Makes me giggle.
ymmv @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:31PM
What did anyone expect? Sony selling 165,000 PS3 consoles week after week? Such a drop-off is only to be expected since at least 80% of those first week sales were pre-orders made many months before.
The really interesting thing to know the current sales numbers compare to current Wii and Xbox sales.
denney @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:32PM
What did u expect its only the hardcore fans buying it.
Harold @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:33PM
That is still very good. 30,000 is more than they sell in Japan every week and I am sure it is still the best selling console in the UK this week. It's also one third of what the 360 and Wii managed to do IN THEIR FIRST WEEK. Sorry it couldn't break the alltime record for consoles sold in the UK two weeks in a row.
Todd @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:33PM
@silkylove
QFT
Ken @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:33PM
Agreed DRO4LIFE.
I like that mental image. WE NEED AN ARTIST TO DRAW THIS PICTURE STAT!
Jason @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:36PM
This makes sense. If Sony couldn't sell out at launch, why would they be able to keep selling PS3s like crazy?
scott @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:37PM
harold keep in mind the xbox and wii were both severely strained by quantities
Seraya @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:38PM
Yeah, that walrus image... thanks for that. XD
Ken @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:37PM
It's the 2nd week Harold. See who's talking next week when they plummet to below 10k.
NintendoFanbot @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:39PM
USA! USA!
BPM @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:40PM
Expected fanboy comments:
"That's because everyone who wants one already got one lol"
"599 US Dollars!"
"Idiot, this is for UK sales."
"Oh. Then... 425 British Pounds!"
"Idiot."
"What's wrong with those people? PS3 is great, they should all be buying them out."
Any others I miss?
Ken @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:41PM
Add something about HOME and you'll be all set BPM.
BPM @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:44PM
Ah, thanks.
I get working on a walrus image when I have some free time. :D
Ken @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:46PM
Much love BPM.
Koopaknight29 @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:51PM
@ BPM
You forgot:
"Looks like someone hit the PS3 for Massive Damage!"
"lol."
"aLL you nintendards and X-bots are gey!1!"
"hey at least the psp is selling better than the ps3"
"Dude, the GBA is selling better than PS3. In America."
D.Vader @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:36PM
I file this under - No Shit. Of course the initial release buzz wears off.
JodyAnthony @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:55PM
you also forgot the inevitible "Nintendo is for kids!" argument that will surely come up in this thread, just like every single other thread on joystiq, whether they are about nintendo or not.
Ashley Allen @ Apr 3rd 2007 1:56PM
I'm guessing the people who bought it in the last week were the people who were waiting for payday before they could afford it.
Tony @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:00PM
So within the next week or so they'll sell out the initial UK allocation?
That's good, yah?
NintendoFanbot @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:00PM
Do you want videogames to go back to the Dark Ages? CUZ THAT'S WHAT'LL HAPPEN IF NINTENDO TAKES THE LEAD!
FrankTheCrank @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:05PM
Rut row Raggy...
Doinks! Scoob! This must be the end of PS3...
Oh my god...finally the end is here. Wahhhhhh!!
Wahhhhhh!!! What are we to do?
England blew it's load on launch, this must really be the end of PS3.
Dracula Jones @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:08PM
I'm nobody's fanboy. I don't want to see the Playstation line end with the PS3. Competition is always good for the consumers.
With that in mind, the entire executive-level Playstation team at Sony needs to be fired. Hire an entirely new group and please start working to fix the Playstation brand before it's too late. And no, I do not think it is already too late, but it's getting damn close.
CuzHereEye @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:08PM
I'll tell you what can save the PS3! Do you want to know what it.. *cut off mid-sentence*... IT'S RIDGE RACER! RIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIIDGE RAAAAAAAAACCCCCCORRRRRR!
samfish @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:10PM
(I know it was originally a whale, but...)
Ahhh! Woooh! What's happening? Who am I? Why am I here? What's my purpose in life? What do I mean by who am I? Okay okay, calm down calm down get a grip now. Ooh, this is an interesting sensation. What is it? Its a sort of tingling in my... well I suppose I better start finding names for things. Lets call it a... tail! Yeah! Tail! And hey, what's this roaring sound, whooshing past what I'm suddenly gonna call my head? Wind! Is that a good name? It'll do. Yeah, this is really exciting. I'm dizzy with anticipation! Or is it the wind? There's an awful lot of that now isn't it? And what's this thing coming toward me very fast? So big and flat and round, it needs a big wide sounding name like 'Ow', 'Ownge', 'Round', 'Ground'! That's it! Ground! Ha! I wonder if it'll be friends with me? Hello Ground! [dies]
Curiously the only thing that went through the mind of the bowl of petunias, as it fell, was, 'Oh no, not again.'
Dolla Dolla @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:12PM
This thread makes me laugh.
Someone should make reference to the PS3's stamina being equal to Mike Tyson's.
Dolla Dolla @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:14PM
@samfish
The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy is freaking hilarious. I love that movie.
32_Footsteps @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:14PM
"PlayStation 3 sales have come down to Earth with all the grace of a skydiving walrus using an anvil for a parachute."
Ludwig, have I ever told you that I love your way with a metaphor?
DBX00 @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:14PM
SingStar + HOME = EUROPEAN DOMINATION
Sites seem to neglect to mention news about how the PS3 has dominated softwares sales across the continent since launch or is selling well across Europe. Regardless, I still don't get how it became cool to track weekly sales of a console... I seriously think this will be the last generation for me if the consoles start pumping out games like Pokemon and Mamas Cooking on a regular basis. I don't want a machine that my grandmother wants to play...maybe I'm alone on that one
Jake @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:15PM
The PS3 only broke the record because it shipped more consoles than any console previously. The Wii and 360 sold out for many weeks. Had the 360 shipped 300,000 in week 1, maybe it would have sold the record. People just love comparing apples and oranges on Joystiq.
With that said, 30,000 for a week is still very good, considering anyone who wanted one could get one the week before. The PS3's UK launch has been successful so far. But you can't say more people want it there than the Wii or 360 at their launches.
AwesomeStuff @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:16PM
"..with all the grace of a skydiving walrus using an anvil for a parachute."
XDDDDD Comedy GOLD!!
Intentless @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:15PM
Thank you samfish!!!
Flit @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:17PM
@samfish:
My thoughts exactly. Just hope that bowl of petunias doesn't come back to kill off Joystiq Bloggers...
sheppy @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:23PM
And to think, just yesterday, we had a thread of pissed off Nintendophiles yelling about how Joystiq is biased towards Sony/Microsoft...
Personally, I don't care who's number one, just so long as they all get plenty of good games.
Having said that, I would normally be all over that walrus picture request but my computer is dead and I brought my PSP with me to work today instead of my sketchbook because of DJ Max Portable 2... sorry I can't oblidge.
Champloo @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:28PM
If I could be serious for a moment,and by God of War I will try my best! =P... I'm with Dracula on this one, and Frankenstein too! Darn, I couldn't even last one sentence, ha. But honestly now, I don't want to see Sony die, but they have pulled so much crap lately that I think they could use the beat down.
You see, they think they're gods right now. They think because the PS1 and 2 sold well that they can't be touched. And they need to learn that they're not an immortal brand that can withstand anything.
Nintendo went through the same phase. They were king of the hill with NES and SNES, but then they got too cocky and made some bad choices with the Virtual Boy, and the N64 (awesome games aside), and some even worse choices with the GameCube. After they received their beating, they learned their lesson and came back swinging with the DS and Wii which so far have been very successful sales-wise.
I call this the Germany syndrome, and I believe every company receives it eventually. Germany tried to take over the world, the world took them down, and Germany changed for the better. Nintendo got too big, Sony took them down, and they came back twice as strong. Microsoft thought it was the king of OS', Apple showed them that they weren't, and Microsoft came back with Vista putting much more effort into their products (not quite enough, but it's still a major improvement).
The point is, when you get too full of yourself, you choke. Sadly though Sony has three problems. They're on shakey ground with the PSP (it could go either way at this point), Sony is suffering from a god complex (IE Germany syndrome), and the PS3 is ahead of it's time, meaning they could be the next Dreamcast. It's all about learning modesty, hopefully Sony gets their groove back because the PS2 was and is an amazing console.
hvnlysoldr @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:26PM
@35 DBX00 You're saying you don't want games that your grandma wants to play but you clearly mentioned Singstar which Grandma and kids and women like will lead to PS3 domination?
Fiery Food Dude @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:37PM
Release the killer app and $200 price drop...Count me in.
OrganicShadow @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:31PM
More like all the people that:
-wanted one at launch
-had the money for it
-didnt care about what games were available
....got one at launch when the sales were spiked high.
What do you expect? It's a console launch. Spin this for the worst if you must, but your 360 is collecting dust while you're too busy lol-ing all the PS3 articles online.
Rob Holiday @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:31PM
How would the PS3 be selling if they did not put the Blu-ray drive in, launched the same time as the 360 and was priced the same as the 360? I think the PS3 would have out-sold the 360 2 to 1. I'll bet MS was grinning ear-to-ear when the heard the PS3 price and delayed launch.
mj @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:36PM
Bless you, samfish. Awesome quote. So apt.
Mark Felps @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:44PM
"This means they sold 30k in a week, IN THE UK alone, after a launch week, when all consoles sales drop. That is actually a pretty good number."
Multiply 30K by four (hint, it's 120K). That's roughly the same number Sony posted in the U.S. last month. You know, the month where they got beaten by the GBA, the PSP, the 360, the PS2, the DS, and the Wii. Saying it's fine because they are doing a dismal 21K-22K in Japan and this is higher is like saying they're setting the world on fire because they're seling faster than the Gamecube.
Really, is this what all the hype's died down to? Sony fanboys happy that they're selling the same ( a week after launch) in Europe as they are in Japan, a country with roughly 150 million less people?
Digi Smalls @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:41PM
i expect constant sell outs at a console launch, what do you expect OrganicShadow?
a bunch of machines on the shelf so soon in Japan, US and the UK?
.
REUYL @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:47PM
Where's Jack Tretton when we need him?
misterg1970 @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:51PM
I know this is a bit sad but I've been checking stock levels of PS3 at my local Argos and they've sold 1 in the last week....and it's the school holidays here! I'm no Sony hater but, in the UK at least, this has been a poorly received launch.
Cutriss @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:53PM
samfish gets cool points. Dolla Dolla loses his for referring to the movie rather than the books which are way better and have been around a lot longer than the movie(s).
Well, time to go yell at those kids that are on my lawn.
Dolla Dolla @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:53PM
Come on now, Digi Smalls, be nice. Only two consoles have been sold out this long and still hard to find, the 360 and the Wii. That's an unfair comparison ...
... wait ...
Hiroken @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:53PM
How is this news? It's the week after launch. Sales drop dramatically at this time for any system. The PS3's high price points is accountable for the higher-than-average drop in sales, but despite what everyone wants to believe, this is not a nail in the proverbial coffin. If the PS3 is still selling this poorly every week for the next 12 months, THAT will be news. 'til then.
~
Dolla Dolla @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:56PM
@Cutriss
Can I gain some cool points back by saying I played the text-only game?
:(
ymmv @ Apr 3rd 2007 2:56PM
"Multiply 30K by four (hint, it's 120K). That's roughly the same number Sony posted in the U.S. last month. You know, the month where they got beaten by the GBA, the PSP, the 360, the PS2, the DS, and the Wii. Saying it's fine because they are doing a dismal 21K-22K in Japan and this is higher is like saying they're setting the world on fire because they're seling faster than the Gamecube."
Mark Felps, keep in mind that the UK has a fifth of the population of the US. With that in mind, selling 30,000 PS3s last week is great news for Sony. It remains to be seen if the sales numbers will keep up but so far Sony must be very pleased.