PS4 makes history with 250,000 units sold across UK

[havoc33]

So, according to CVG the PS4 shattered opening weekend records in the UK:

http://www.computerandvideogames.com/440897/ps4-is-the-fastest-selling-console-in-uk-history/

In comparison the Xbox One sold 150,000 units in its first 48 hours in the UK.

Seems like Sony is having themselves a merry good launch so far. Sales figures from the US were already impressive, and it will be interesting to hear what the total numbers for Europe is.

 

[TelHybrid]

You may want to use commas (,) instead of full stops (.) when separating the zeroes in thousand figure numbers, as full stops act as decimal points.

OT: I'm not too surprised. If I'm honest, I think Xbone would have sold more than it did if not for the price. With the similarity in hardware, and the number of exclusives being very low (compared to older console generations), this is shaping up to be a very close contest for Sony and Microsoft.

Now as a consumer, why should I care? Well my inner media and cultural studies student takes an interest, but as a gamer, I only care about the games. I see 2015 as the year when things will really heat up.

EDIT: I've been told that different regions use full stops instead. I have been educated.

 

[Cabisco]

I see 2015 as the year when things will really heat up.

Agreed, I feel it's normally the case with new generations of Consoles that it takes a couple years for the 'new' ips to establish themselves. Then again with Titanfall, Watchdogs and Destiny all on the horizon 2014 might be the year where we all decide this new generation is bloody lovely.

 

[havoc33]

Sony has got to be happy though. With their financial situation very dire they could not afford coming out of the gates slowly. Here's hoping they keep it up and don't rest on their laurels. They have done everything right so far, and if they can back it up with an equally impressive games library they might have a chance of returning to their PS2 glory days.

I'll be picking up the PS4 myself sometime early next year. Still need to finish off some games on the PS3/360...

 

[Aiddon_v1legacy]

and then the following week it will proceed to have a 90% decrease in units sold at the very least. Coming strong right out of the gates doesn't mean much if you can't sustain momentum.

 

[Tom_green_day]

That's actually less than I was expecting. Only 1 in about 25 people? I was expecting about 1M sales, gaming is pretty mainstream here. Maybe the late release, crappy games and limited availability over here were contributing factors... just a thought.

 

[grey_space]

That's actually less than I was expecting. Only 1 in about 25 people? I was expecting about 1M sales, gaming is pretty mainstream here. Maybe the late release, crappy games and limited availability over here were contributing factors... just a thought.

The release games are pretty crappy. I've the disposable income to buy a PS4 and it's something I'd be interested in purchasing if the selection of games weren't so abysmally abysmal.

 

[Sigmund Av Volsung]

It's funny how the PS4 sold so much and yet has no games.

But then again, both options seem a bit meh: PS4 has no killer app, and The Xbone has day 1 micro-transactions on $60 titles.

This generation does not bode well with me.

Maybe the WiiU has won it after all.

 

[TelHybrid]

I see 2015 as the year when things will really heat up.

Agreed, I feel it's normally the case with new generations of Consoles that it takes a couple years for the 'new' ips to establish themselves. Then again with Titanfall, Watchdogs and Destiny all on the horizon 2014 might be the year where we all decide this new generation is bloody lovely.

Hmm I'm not so sure those games will cut it in regard to representing the new consoles. They have last gen counterpart releases scheduled as well, so all the new consoles will offer for those games is a better looking experience tbh.

Dead Rising 3 and Killzone Shadow Fall currently are the 2 biggest releases that are true current gen releases. I think we need to see more of those.

I also see a hell of a lot of sales in those consoles' futures once Kingdom Hearts III is released. Admittedly that's what has me sold down the line, and will tear me away from my bubble of PC exclusivity.

 

[porous_shield]

That's actually less than I was expecting. Only 1 in about 25 people? I was expecting about 1M sales, gaming is pretty mainstream here. Maybe the late release, crappy games and limited availability over here were contributing factors... just a thought.

I think it's roughly 1 in every 250 people. That's still more per capita than the US launch of 1M (granted, that was in 1 day not 2 but I think they sold out anyway).

That 1 million wasn't all just in the US but Canada as well. I don't know what the Canadian sales numbers are, because I don't think they have been released, but it leaves a smaller number of PS4s per person in the US.

if we guess that because Canada has 1/10 the population of the US so 1/10 of the sales would be 100 000 leaving 900 000 for the US (the numbers obviously could be much higher or lower than that because it's just a guess) so that means 3 PS4s for every 1000 people.

 

[Maximum Bert]

Not surprised it has beaten the Xbox One to be honest as I have heard from a lot of people even those I would not consider core gamers that they were jumping ship from 360 to PS4 when it launched or when they upgraded.

I am surprised it sold so many seeing as there is bugger all games on it. I only know 2 people who own one then again I know 2 people who own Xbox Ones as well and yes they are the same people to whom money is not really a problem.

Sony need to get some killer games now and not do a WiiU then again Microsoft also need some killer games I was really looking forward to KI but after playing it I was underwhelmed not because of the lack of quality in the fighting or netcode but because there was so little game for your buck and that it is very clearly unfinished.

 

[havoc33]

That's actually less than I was expecting. Only 1 in about 25 people? I was expecting about 1M sales, gaming is pretty mainstream here. Maybe the late release, crappy games and limited availability over here were contributing factors... just a thought.

You expected 1M sales, yet the previous record in the UK was the PSP, who sold 185,000 in three days? Sounds like highly unrealistic expectations to me.

 

[DanielBrown]

You may want to use commas (,) instead of full stops (.) when separating the zeroes in thousand figure numbers, as full stops act as decimal points.

Had to check it up because it has always confused me while using English money converters. Reading about it made me more confused though, so it's possible I'm wrong about some things.
*cough cough*
TIL: 42 countries uses a decimal point system and 67 uses decimal commas.
As an example; OP is from the Netherlands, where they use commas. In this case they'd write it as 250 000 because it's not a currency(250.000,00 if it was). The UK and Ireland are the only countries in Europe using the point system.

Maybe you already knew this. I just learned it, thought it was intresting, and wanted to share.

OT: Glad the PS4 is doing well. Still gonna wait at least a year before I get mine, but this should mean more(and cheaper) games when I do get my hands on one!

 

[Tom_green_day]

You expected 1M sales, yet the previous record in the UK was the PSP, who sold 185,000 in three days? Sounds like highly unrealistic expectations to me.

The PSP in 2005?
I don't know if you live in the UK but gaming is part of mainstream culture here, everyone I know had an opinion on the PS4 or Xbox One even if they weren't planning on buying them at launch, and I'm not even friends with gamey people. Easily 1/6th of the population would have a PS4 if they could in my opinion. It's huge. Not to mention the marketing everywhere.

 

[BrotherRool]

As much as I'm a PS4 fanboy, all this doesn't really mean that much. At the moment both manufacturers are selling as much as they can produce, all the records simply mean that X area had more PS4's/One's shipped to it. It does mean this generation is off to a good start, but I would say Sony's only real straight success right now is they've infiltrated the Xbox dominated english-speaking media. People like Angry Joe and Penny Arcade have let Sony enter their life and it will probably have some long-term influence (as long as Sony doesn't screw up and produces some good games in the next year or so)

It's funny how the PS4 sold so much and yet has no games.

But then again, both options seem a bit meh: PS4 has no killer app, and The Xbone has day 1 micro-transactions on $60 titles.

This generation does not bode well with me.

Maybe the WiiU has won it after all.

Launches are always slow and mediocre in terms of games. It takes 3 years to make a good game, and they probably haven't even worked out console hardware at that point. What you need is a strong start, good multiplatform support and then strong games in the next two years.

Look at the PS3, it took like 2 years before good games started coming out, but now it has some of the best of the generation. It does mean buying now is an act of faith, but it's a pretty reliable one that people are ready to believe in and the third-parties are all on board with that. If you buy a console now it will still be there when the games come out in 2014 (and the price is unlikely to drop for at least a year, unless one of the consoles suddenly stops selling).

The Wii U has definitely lost at this point (at least with the AAA playing demographic, and Sony have the indie playing demographic atm). The reason the Wii U has lost is this:
http://www.vgchartz.com/gamedb/?name=&publisher=&platform=WiiU&genre=&minSales=0&results=200

The best selling third-party game on the Wii U has sold 550,000 games over the past year. And that's nowhere near being profitable, and it was reviewed well and it only gets worse from there.

Compared to the PS4 where the best selling third-party title has already outsold the best selling Wii one, by about 300,000 units. If you're Activision or Ubisoft or EA do you make your games for the console where you may not even break 100,000 or the one which is already outperforming the Wii U? Especially since it's harder to port to the WiiU than it is the PS4 or XboxOne

 

[Suave Charlie]

You expected 1M sales, yet the previous record in the UK was the PSP, who sold 185,000 in three days? Sounds like highly unrealistic expectations to me.

The PSP in 2005?
I don't know if you live in the UK but gaming is part of mainstream culture here, everyone I know had an opinion on the PS4 or Xbox One even if they weren't planning on buying them at launch, and I'm not even friends with gamey people. Easily 1/6th of the population would have a PS4 if they could in my opinion. It's huge. Not to mention the marketing everywhere.

UK population is 63 million.
Now gaming is more popular, but it sure isn't that popular.

Reasons for not buying being, majority of gamers are in the early teen to mid 20s age brackets, where disposable income is typically scarce for the younger end. Of course these people would have one if they could, but they can't.
How many are waiting for better games, how many got a bone instead, how many have pc and don't want one.

Sure gaming is now mainstream, how much of that is due to the prevalence of mobile and browser based games? I'm pretty sure Rovio can buy the moon at this point. So not all gamers would want to get a new console on release.

Also on the people having opinions about the consoles, opinions cost nothing whereas a new console costs the average british weekly wage..

 

[FourCartridge]

The smell of a new console launch is a wonderful thing. Going to be camping out for my own PS4 this Sunday. But the fact Sony and Microsoft are selling out is a good sign, is it not? Better to have all of your stock gone instead of sitting on boxes. Sony(and maybe MS) look well on their way to reaching their sales goal. Also, since this pice of new alos gets brought up... Knack outsold Super Mario 3D World.

Off topic: *looks at OP's avatar* WipEout fans unite!

 

[havoc33]

You expected 1M sales, yet the previous record in the UK was the PSP, who sold 185,000 in three days? Sounds like highly unrealistic expectations to me.

The PSP in 2005?
I don't know if you live in the UK but gaming is part of mainstream culture here, everyone I know had an opinion on the PS4 or Xbox One even if they weren't planning on buying them at launch, and I'm not even friends with gamey people. Easily 1/6th of the population would have a PS4 if they could in my opinion. It's huge. Not to mention the marketing everywhere.

There are several good reasons why a gaming console won't sell 1M in three days. If I didn't know better, I'd say you are working for a publisher!

Off topic: *looks at OP's avatar* WipEout fans unite!

Yay! Let's convince Sony to resurrect the series! Went to a retro game shop on Sunday and got myself a new copy of WipEout 2097. Rented my original copy to a "friend" of mine years ago, and now he can't find it the idiot. Oh well, got a new one in mint condition, so I'm happy.

 

[Tom_green_day]

[quote="Suave Charlie" post="9.835586.20465508"

UK population is 63 million.
Now gaming is more popular, but it sure isn't that popular.

Reasons for not buying being, majority of gamers are in the early teen to mid 20s age brackets, where disposable income is typically scarce for the younger end. Of course these people would have one if they could, but they can't.
How many are waiting for better games, how many got a bone instead, how many have pc and don't want one.

Sure gaming is now mainstream, how much of that is due to the prevalence of mobile and browser based games? I'm pretty sure Rovio can buy the moon at this point. So not all gamers would want to get a new console on release.

Also on the people having opinions about the consoles, opinions cost nothing whereas a new console costs the average british weekly wage..[/quote]
Sorry, I don't know what mathematical leap I made to get 1M as 1/6 of 63M, not my brightest day.
When I say gaming I mean console gaming wnd when I say opinions I mean opinions on what they will buy, everyone I know wanted to buy a console and most of the people I know were actually planning on pre-ordering or getting one at release, hence my surprise at the low sales.