PS3 sales soar in UK, Japan - Reports

Though the $299 PlayStation 3 Slim was popping up at US retailers during the last week in August, its impact won't be seen until the NPD Group releases its September game-sales data...in October. However, there is already evidence from overseas that the cheaper, thinner, and higher-memory iteration of the console is selling briskly.

First, UK game-sales data firm Chart-Track has told industry magazine MCV that PlayStation 3 sales have gone up 999 percent for the week of August 31-September 6, the 36th of the year. Though it would not offer specific numbers, the data company, whose official Web site is currently down, did say the PS3 was resoundingly beating its competitors. [UPDATE] Chart-Track has since announced the Slimline console by itself sold 40,000 units in the UK during its first week, not including older, marked-down models.

"The sales increase is very impressive, making the PS3 the top selling hardware in Week 36," a Chart-Track rep told MCV. "The Xbox 360, Wii, and DS Lite all sold around the same amount last week, [while] the PS3 Slim outsold each of them by a ratio of three-to-one." (Emphasis added.)

Meanwhile, halfway around the world in Japan, the PS3 is selling at levels not seen in years. Research firm Enterbrain revealed via its Famitsu magazine that 150,252 PS3s sold in the four days after its September 3 launch. That brought sales of all models of the PS3 to 150,832 units for the August 31-September 6 week, the biggest one-week total since the console went on sale in November 2006.