Sony PS4 SHATTERS UK console sales SPEED RECORD

The PS4 is officially the UK’s fastest-selling games console. Ever. Numbers released to insiders yesterday by GfK Chart-Track, which monitors over-the-counter sales of games hardware and software using sales figures supplied by retailers (not manufacturers), show some 250,000 UK-based punters snapped up a PS4 during the first …

[MrE]

Look at the profit...

According to the profit made per console ($18 for PS4 and $28 per Xbox one) the overall profit made is $4500000 by Sony and $4200000 by Microsoft, similar sales returns, initial sales don't necessarily follow through to long term sales.

I'm waiting till after xmas to get my console dose, more conservative buyers may be doing the same.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Look at the profit...

Meanwhile, I see that in the US, the Xbox One is outselling the PS4 by over 2:1 !

http://blog.infoscout.co/black-friday-console-war/

[MJI]

Re: Look at the profit... AC 11.57

Because they have run out of PS4s

[phy445]

Re: Look at the profit...

Infoscout is an internet startup that produces its figures based on crowd sourcing and other weird and wonderful metrics. It'll be interesting to see if these figures stand up to scrutiny or it turns out that ps4 owners have got better things to do than tell the twattersphere that they have just bought one.

I own neither a xbox or a ps of any kind. I wish both well in this fondleslab dominated world...

[jai]

Re: Look at the profit...

it's the software where they make the money - and the licenses that they'll sell to developers to produce games on their platform. the profit from the hardware is negligable in the long-term.

a larger userbase means more games being sold means more developers attracted to your platform means even more games being sold means $£profit£$

[Dave 126]

Re: Look at the profit...

Jai's correct, the profit on the software and the on-line gaming subscriptions will quickly dwarf that $10 difference. What is more telling is that neither console is being sold at a loss.

[Destroy All Monsters]

Re: Look at the profit...

> What is more telling is that neither console is being sold at a loss.

That remains to be seen. Those "profits" (how horrible! not selling at cost to the gaming proletariat!!) are AFAIK just materials. A *lot* of secondary costing is not in this number. I do think one can safely assume that both are sold at breakeven and that "profit" is mainly security margin.

[Dave 126]

Re: Look at the profit...

Good point Destroy All Monsters, I took MrE's figures and didn't consider the non-recurrent engineering (R&D and tooling) costs.

[Marco Alfarrobinha]

Re: Look at the profit...

What you seem to forget is, that gamers on Xbox Live are used to pay for 27-33 quid for "Gold" (anyone that pays more needs to learn how to use the internet).

For all of the previous generation, Sony fanboys spent their time trowing the fact that online multiplayer gaming was free on the PS3. It isn't now. The cheapest I could find is £42.99. PS+ is still better value than Gold, but many people I know that have PS3s only had it for the free multiplayer. These are the kind of people that Sony will struggle to make money out of them.

I know at least three people that got a nice nasty surprise with their PS4s when they found out about the paid multiplayer.

Microsoft in the long run will maintain their user base, and Sony will struggle to keep theirs. This generation is Microsoft's to lose.

[JDX]

Fairly meaningless

The Wii has outsold all of those other consoles. First day sales are just for bragging rights.

I think it'll be an interesting battle, if MS can avoid shooting themselves in the foot so often.

[Tachikoma]

Re: Fairly meaningless

Is the Wii still outselling the WiiU? I saw some figures last week saying the PS3 was outselling the WiiU by a considerable margin.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Fairly meaningless

EVERYthing is outselling the WiiU isn't it?

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Fairly meaningless

I think 8 track tape players are outselling the Wii U ;)

[jaminbob]

Re: Fairly meaningless

Agreed. The hard core are driving sales at present. And they were *seriously* annoyed at MS proposals over ownership etc.

When the mainstream takes over it will be even more interesting. My anecdotal view was grown ups were buying PS and kids XB. So maybe the price difference will be even more important.

[MJI]

Re: Fairly meaningless

And the PS2 greatly outsold the Wii

[DrXym]

Re: Fairly meaningless

The Wii had impressive hardware sales but a very poor tie ratio, i.e. the number of games people bought. And the games they did buy tended to be 1st party titles like Zelda, Mario etc. This is why the Wii turned into a cesspool of shovelware because the money wasn't in it for 3rd parties to shoot any higher. So the Wii tanked as a platform despite outselling other consoles.

It may also explain why 3rd parties all but abandoned the Wii U - resentment about the way Nintendo treated them the last time around and the low chance of making a return from the new platform.

So it's not just about one set of figures. It's an ongoing relationship between hardware and software sales.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: Fairly meaningless

Not just bragging rights. Largely, the Xbox 360 has been most successful in the English speaking world, PS3 proving more popular in the non-English speaking parts of Europe, and of course Japan. So making stock available in these key UK, USA etc. markets (and selling it) is crucial for Sony this generation.

But storm before the calm, interesting to see how it plays out once the first 500K of new gen consoles are in homes, most people I know are holding fire until games start to become available. Next pre Christmas season is when it starts getting serious.

[Anonymous Coward]

These figures are fairly irrelevant

Because of a lack of availability.

Certainly the PS4 appears to have had very limited availability. I don't know about the XBox One but imagine it was much the same. I know first-hand that where I live for every person who managed to get one there would have been roughly three to four people who left the shop disappointed.

I suspect had there been three times the amount of stock, there'd have been three times the amount of sales. I don't doubt that has also happened in the past.

So to an extent at least what's being compared isn't sales, it's availability.

[DavCrav]

Re: These figures are fairly irrelevant

"I suspect had there been three times the amount of stock, there'd have been three times the amount of sales. I don't doubt that has also happened in the past."

No. Just work it out: that would mean 750,000 units sold in the first two days. This would mean that, *after two days*, about one in thirty households across the UK would have one. More than five million of these are pensioners, and I'm not sure there will be many 70-year old gamers. (There are no doubt a few, but statistically insignificant.) Taking these out of the equation, it's now down to one in 25.

By comparison, *since release*, the PS3 sold five million units. You are saying that they would have sold one seventh of the lifetime sales of the PS3 in one weekend, when the console is at its most expensive with the fewest games.

It takes just a moment to do a sanity check on the numbers you produce.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: These figures are fairly irrelevant

It takes just a moment to do a sanity check on the numbers you produce.

Yeah it was a throwaway figure, fair enough. However, the basic point still stands: as there were over 20 people queuing outside a major Sainsbury that ended up getting 6 PS4s and a similar number outside Argos not all of whom got one it's still a test of availability.

[Joffff]

Re: These figures are fairly irrelevant

I'm surprised that those bothering to queue for a new console hadn't already pre-ordered.

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: These figures are fairly irrelevant

I'm surprised that those bothering to queue for a new console hadn't already pre-ordered.

One reason that *many* will not have pre-ordered is because their kids had not yet decided which one they wanted for christmas.

Kids won't make that decision based on specs, cost, availability, or any such thing. They'll make it based upon "that's what my mates are getting", "forza's better than gran tourismo", "i heard that xbox online is slower", "my mate says everything you say is recorded on xbox live", "i saw on facebook that psn points go out of date if you don't use them", "playstation controllers are gay" etc.

The first one in that list, is by far the most important. Even though none of them have actually got one.

[DavCrav]

Re: These figures are fairly irrelevant

"Yeah it was a throwaway figure, fair enough. However, the basic point still stands: as there were over 20 people queuing outside a major Sainsbury that ended up getting 6 PS4s and a similar number outside Argos not all of whom got one it's still a test of availability."

I would at this point assume that they went somewhere else and got one rather than queueing up, not getting one, and saying "oh well, sod it"...

[Anonymous Coward]

Re: These figures are fairly irrelevant

"I would at this point assume that they went somewhere else and got one rather than queueing up, not getting one, and saying "oh well, sod it"..."

I know some went elsewhere, somewhere else after that, still didn't get one, and said "sod it, i'll order online and wait until after christmas"

I've no idea if at that point they'd be included in the sales figures or not.

[Brenda McViking]

Re: These figures are fairly irrelevant

Yeah - hit the nail on the head, though having been around town on Sunday in Birmingham, there were still consoles to be had if you didn't mind paying inflated prices for them - cheapest deals I saw were circa £550 for the console (either one) and a game (and a few extras like films I didn't want/need).

Both companies know how this game plays out - you just have to have sufficient demand that you sell out and stay sold out throughout the Christmas season (while the launch games are few and far between - dealing with headlines about people agonising over when they're going to get your products drives sales far more than loads of frustrated gamers with consoles who have completed both launch games within a week.)

It also hides glaring manufacturing faults long enough that they can be fixed for future batches, while the number of affected customers remain those who were your most loyal followers anyway. Keep the demand sky-high and release just enough supply to prevent a backlash, whilst constantly running campaigns telling everyone how high demand is.

The engineers have had their fun now - time to hand over to the dark arts of sales and psychology

[Destroy All Monsters]

Re: These figures are fairly irrelevant

Photos of the Conspiracy Papers now or it's idle speculation.

[sabroni]

@ Brenda McViking

And the evidence to back up your theories is?

[Blitterbug]

Re: Because of a lack of availability

Hmm. Not so sure. I bought one on launch night at Bluewater. Just walked in off the street with no issues. Drove to Game at 12:45 on a whim, thinking I'd maybe miss the queue and possibly bag one just before they sold out. They seemed to have plenty, but then the fuckers were only offering two bundles to off-the-street plebs like me who dared dodge the pre-order / queue kerfuffle: £549 or £599. Both bundles were Killzone packs with included mandatory 12 months Playstation Plus subscription, two rubbish films, AC Black Flag (yum) and fucking Fifa (which I immediately traded in for £30 off Knack).

I saw no evidence of mass hysteria / sad empty-handed punters etc. Although a staff member slurping a Starbucks outside in the corridoor said when asked about the lack of any queue, "Oh yeah there was... you missed all the fun!". Well actually what I think I missed was all the pain...

[Destroy All Monsters]

The amazing thing is that I know no-one around me who owns up to having bought any of those devices.

[Dave 126]

Yeah, it may be only anecdotal, but of my friends who are keen console gamers, all are adopting a 'wait and see' policy.

And why the hell not? Waiting allows you to guess which platform might prevail, it allows you time to hear of teething problems and silly policies, and it usually results in a price cut several months down the line.

[Paul Shirley]

My console gaming friends&acquaintances adopted a 'wait&see what Steam,Nvidia,AMD and Intel could do for PC gaming' policy. It's no longer an XBox/PS choice.

There's also a growing realisation that if you buy a lot of games the console tax soon adds up and they're overpaying for the console hardware. Much better to spend it on cheaper PC game builds and regular PC upgrades.

[Joffff]

As a self-confessed Xbox fanboi...

I think it's pretty clear why PS4 sales have smashed the Xbox One - Microsoft screwed up their PR from day "One".

Hardware specs are irrelevant and are willy-waving bragging rights of idiots. It's always been the killer app that decides which console reigns supreme - look at the Wii as a prime example, but marketing is a close second. Inferior graphics (compared to the same generation offerings by Sony and Microsoft) and a suite of launch titles more suited to younger gamers than the 16-35 customer base we're told are the core gamers. Yet the Wii had the killer app of a new interface that anyone in the family could pick up and use. I'm sure many are familiar with suffering from elbow-ache on Boxing Day after an endurance session of Wii Sports Bowling.

So why hasn't the Xbox One with it's more advanced Kinect 2.0 interface done the same? Because Microsoft presumed this and their One-box-to-rule-them-all approach would be as popular with punters as it was in the boardroom.

Fail #1.

The big reveal was so focused on SPORTS SPORTS SPORTS that they ignored that the rest of the world are a little bit more relaxed when it comes to viewing sporting events. Personally I would much rather watch an hour of Charlotte Dujardin putting Valegro through it's paces (dance pony, dance!) but I digress...

Fail #2.

A major criticism of the Xbox launch was the scant mention of the console as a gaming platform. We all know the price of the basic Xbox One is more than the PS4 (and I know several PS4 owners who have spent far in excess of the equivalent Xbox One on their PS4 bundles) but perhaps Microsoft should have taken a bigger hit on the cost and subsidised the Kinect 2.0 camera to bring it more in line with the PS4. I'm sure Microsoft would have clawed back the cost within a year of flogging Xbox Live subscriptions and DLC.

Fail #3.

The always-on Internet and Kinect spying debacle was a PR shit storm in a tea cup. The UK's broadband offering is abysmal with only the select few being able to enjoy reliable, fast Internet. To make such a mainstream device so reliant on having an Internet connection - even if it's technically feasible isn't going to win any favours, especially with paranoia over the NSA's desire to watch you sitting in your underwear whilst playing on Call of Duty.

Fail #4.

Underestimating the second-hand games market. Not only did Microsoft upset the consumers that enjoy picking up a bargain game a few weeks after launch, or trading in their unwanted titles for a few coins but they also angered retailers, some of which would have a big part of their business model jeopardised by taking away used games. For these retailers it's bad enough that this generation of consoles will see downloadable games become the norm thus taking them out of the equation but they wouldn't even have the used games to fall back on. Turtle Beach headsets and Pokemon cards a business model does not make.

So armed with these and I'm sure more (but I've typed too much and I'm losing the will to live) criticisms in their utility belts it's very easy to see why Sony have taken this early lead in the run up to Christmas.

I am one of those that will wait it out and see which console piques my interest enough in a few months time, after the initial hype machines have been wound-down, day one bugs patched and the RRPs have been slashed. But by then it may be a one-horse race with my friends already adopting one console over the other, almost forcing me in a particular direction or face playing online against sweary American children.

[Anonymous Coward]

Not entirely true.

Microsoft sold 150k in a week. PS4 sold 185k in 48hours.

Everything is pretty much sold out now, but we get 5x the number of people asking if we have PS4 in stock. I'm pretty sure Sony are going to clean up this gen. Better hardware, lower RRP, better exclusives last gen (Uncharted, Killzone, Last of Us), better indie titles, and better UK focus this time around (iPlayer for example, working just fine here on my PS4)

[Anonymous Coward]

Plenty on ebay.co.uk right now. Are these sellers making a quick buck? If so, they aren't making much at the current bids shown given they have to pay commission.

[Atonnis]

All bollocks...

Every site has different news stating different sales levels and numbers from different statistics-delivery companies, and more than it's fair share of bias.

I don't give a shit, to be honest. As long as whatever I console I choose to buy works, has a great selection of games, a solid future and a good feature set, I'm all good.

That, and a lack of proprietary connectors and storage....but we've yet to see what's happening with either console on that front.

[Chris McEwam]

Completely Skewed Figures considering it was launched on the Busiest Online Shopping Weekend of the year.

[Eradicate all BB entrants]

Xbox sold 150K in a week? ......

...... except they didn't. They pretty much sold out day one seeing as most of the 150K units for the UK were allocated to pre-orders with a few thousand put aside for stores. That is how Amazon knew PS4 would outsell it, they had a larger allocation of them.

As for who will win the console war, and I say this as someone who bought the new Xbox just for Forza 5 (it is worth it) I would have to say the winner is the PC, got Reus for something like £1.74 on Steam last night. A great little game.

This crap about real gamers will pick PS4, kids will pick Xbox and beardy wierdys will get a Steam box is really pathetic. Spread the FUD all you like but actual real gamers are multi-platform, because we enjoy playing games and not participating in willy waving regarding who gets the most FPS on COD. And seeing as my gaming history started with a Grandstand (With the light gun) I do have some experience on the subject.

[EPurpl3]

Re: Xbox sold 150K in a week? ......

“real gamers will pick PS4, kids will pick Xbox and beardy wierdys will get a Steam box is really pathetic"

What about those who does not use any of this but play pc games? Like Starcraft 2. How stupid can people be to use Steam. Steam doesn't offer anything, is just a shop with DRM. Sony and Xbox ofer multiplayer.

[MJI]

Well mine is OK now

My exchange PS4 survived 2 hours of Killzone Shadowfall with no crash.

My postman was so excited for his XB1, but he has now bought a PS4 off Ebay inflated price despite being a bit of a Xbox fanboy.

Anyway graphics best ot worst SF, 3, 2, M, 1HD, 1, L

SP Fun 1, 3, M, SF, 2, L

MP not tested yet

So it is best looking but I had more fun blasting through the HD remake of the PS2 game, I like 2 but it is gruelling. 3 was easy on hardest setting.

Oh GG as one of the KZ3 Move users you have dropped one on, the controls are clunky.