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Sony UK 'ready and willing' to break sales record with PS4

F

fluffydelusions

Member
The UK arm of PlayStation believes that pent-up demand for the PS4, coupled with a healthy launch day allocation, gives the new console a real chance to break Britain's all-time sales record.

Currently the fastest selling console in the UK is Sony's PSP, which was sold to 185,000 consumers after just four days on the market. But, hours ahead of Sony's midnight PS4 launch event in Covent Garden, the corporation's UK managing director Fergal Gara said the PS4 could hit new heights.


Gara (left) attended the London PS Vita launch event in 2011 and is making final preparations for the PS4 release party in Covent Garden
"Like North America, the UK is a huge priority for us because it sits at the front-end of appetite for new technology," Gara told CVG.

"With PS4, stock allocation in the UK is very healthy indeed and we go into this ready and willing and break our own previous launch record."

Microsoft may have already usurped the PSP's record, however. The software giant launched its Xbox One console on Friday and, within 48 hours, had already amassed 150,000 unit sales across the UK.

It is unclear if the company has enough remaining supply to outpace the PSP record. Nintendo's Wii U, meanwhile, sold 40,000 units in 48 hours.

"WE CAN'T WIND BACK THE CLOCK WITH PS3, BUT WE ARE HIGHLY AMBITIOUS WITH PS4"
Sony sold around ten million PS2s in the UK, yet lost its grip on the market with the release of the PS3, which has so far sold more than five million units in total. Microsoft's Xbox 360 is far ahead, with total UK sales of more than 8.4 million.

Gara insisted that "beating the competition is not the most important thing here", but says Sony believes it can close the gap.

"There is definitely an ambition to reduce that gap, but first and foremost the ambition is to be the gamers' choice, and I think one leads to the other. I think we're doing a great job for the gamer, the market share will follow," he explained.


Sony UK has taken over London's famous OXO tower as part of the PS4 launch campaign
"The PS3 is now in the twilight of its years, so we're not saying we'll fix the PS3's [market share gap] and we can't wind back the clock, but we are highly ambitious for PS4, and the early demand is superb. We are going to come out of the blocks very strong.

"So we will certainly compete better this time, we've certainly got a better shout with a really great machine at such a great price. We've entered the cycle on time at the target price, with a great feel-good factor among gamers. The support we've had from the community has been humbling."

He added: "Satisfying the gamer is the most important thing, satisfying our shareholders is maybe the second. But if we're doing both of those things it is likely we'll be the lead console."

Elsewhere in his interview with CVG, Gara suggested PS4 could win over casual gamers' hearts, and dismissed industry suggestions that the whole market has declined in the wake of the smartphone games revolution and Nintendo's slump in hardware sales.

"If you compare the core gamer market in the UK to the generation before, there was about ten million PS2s and two million consoles from Nintendo and Microsoft in the UK, so the current generation has expanded from that.

"Of course, within the last generation the PS2 had a good chunk of the casual market with games like Buzz and SingStar, and in this last cycle it was the Wii that grabbed that casual market. So if you combine the Wii and the core consoles, the installed base is about 20 million, which obviously represents huge growth over the previous generation.

"TIME WILL TELL WHICH COMPANY WILL HAVE THE IDEA THAT DRAWS IN THE MASS MARKET AGAIN"
"So what is the potential for the market this generation? I would say the core market will remain robust, and time will tell which company will have the idea that draws in the mass market again and excites them the way we have seen in the past. Credit to Nintendo, they did a superb job in the last generation, I think the challenge is for PlayStation to pick up that market.

"We are absolutely focused on the core gamer. Everything in the machine, and the painful and expensive decisions we took to assemble it, has been built for the core gamer. But with a relatively assessable price point on day one, there's no reason not to say you can't pull in the casual gamer earlier in the cycle than usual."
Click to expand...

http://www.computerandvideogames.co...y-and-willing-to-break-sales-record-with-ps4/
 
T

Triggerhappytel

Member
The PSP is the current record holder?! Holy shit. I think the PS4 has a good chance of outstripping this. Didn't the 'bone do about 130k units here?
 
Marvel

Marvel

could never
I regret cancelling my pre-order but I am a patient man, I can wait until an inFamous or Vita bundle next year.
 
Z

zomgbbqftw

Banned
It's going to be huge. So much hype at work today. Even rich banker fucks are heading down to queue up later.

From my small department 19 people have the day off tomorrow from annual leave and I expect a few more will magically call in sick as well. Crazy.
 
Fruitster

Fruitster

Member
Shouldn't have cancelled that pre-order! So regret, such stupid. Still, going to try and hunt one down in the wild first thing tomorrow.
 
S

SmokyDave

Member
JABEE said:
Why didn't you preorder Smoky? You knew you were going to buy it. Your Vita needs a friend.
Click to expand...

I never pre-order systems. The masochist in me prefers to frantically scrabble around to grab a system at the last minute. Or at least, that's how I used to feel. As launch day approaches and it becomes clear that it's going to sell like fucking crazy, I'm thinking I made a mistake.

Ah well, it's all part of the game.
 
R

riceandpea

Neo Member
Would be interested in knowing what the fastest selling non-Sony console is in the UK.

EDIT: Oh this is CVG's. Is Xbox 360 currently the second fastest selling console then? Cause I'm surprised if PSP maintains that record.

PSP haz no gaems etc.
 
S

Salvor.Hardin

Banned
Damn. When it's all said and done, the 360 might actually match the PS2's sales in the UK. Insane.

I would be surprised if the PS4 didn't break that PSP record.
 
P

Psycho_Mantis

Banned
tumblr_mufg0n5nOv1rd8x3eo1_500.gif
 
Z

zomgbbqftw

Banned
riceandpea said:
Would be interested in knowing what the fastest selling non-Sony console is in the UK.

EDIT: Oh this is CVG's. Is Xbox 360 currently the second fastest selling console then? Cause I'm surprised if PSP maintains that record.

PSP haz no gaems etc.
Click to expand...

PSP has the record at 185k, PS3 is second at 165k, then Bone at 150k.
 
D

DBT85

Member
Triggerhappytel said:
The PSP is the current record holder?! Holy shit. I think the PS4 has a good chance of outstripping this. Didn't the 'bone do about 130k units here?
Click to expand...

Xbone did about 150k.

riceandpea said:
Would be interested in knowing what the fastest selling non-Sony console is in the UK.

EDIT: Oh this is CVG's. Is Xbox 360 currently the second fastest selling console then? Cause I'm surprised if PSP maintains that record.

PSP haz no gaems etc.
Click to expand...

Fastest is PSP at 185,000, second is PS3 at 165,000

Xbox 360 was about 70,000, Wii U about 40,000
 
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