Sony sells 4.5 million PlayStation 3s worldwide
by Colin Torretta 
{ Jul 26th 2007 at 9:00PM }
During Sony's recent financial statement, they announced that they've sold almost 4.5 million PlayStation 3s worldwide. Something to note is that they've changed their policy of stating how many systems shipped and are now actually abiding by the industry standard of saying how many systems have actually sold. This helps provide a clearer view of the PS3's success and is a much appreciated change from their past financial statements. Onto the numbers themselves, the 4.5 million sell-through is nothing to be scoffed at and shows that they are keeping pace with the overall number of 360s sold during the same post-launch time frame. Unfortunately, the numbers aren't great -- especially when you consider that only 700,000 PS3s sold during the entire first quarter of the year, a huge decrease from the initial sell-rate. Of course, the decrease in sales makes sense considering there were almost NO GAMES RELEASED during that time frame. Funny how people don't buy consoles when there is nothing worth playing on it.
Regardless, Sony feels that the one-two punch of the PS3 price-cut combined with a plethora of high-profile titles coming out in the coming months will help propel sales of the system. Their goal is to have another 10 million PS3s sold by March 08, which would put it about 50% above where the 360 was at the same time (~15 million units sold vs ~10 million). While this is an optimistic goal, we can't help but feel some of their excitement. Games like Heavenly Sword, Lair and MGS 4 (just to name a few) have been making gamers salivate like Pavlov's puppies and the sales spike post-price cut shows that people really want a PS3, they just don't want to sell a kidney to get one.
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)
humpty @ Jul 26th 2007 9:12PM
Considering all the media hate, lack of games (in the report period), and it costing over 2x more than Wii.. the 4.5 million figure is pretty good.
Things are looking up.
Xiru @ Jul 26th 2007 9:37PM
This is great news. I just played through the Heavenly sword demo and i'm in love. I am shocked that Sony can keep me impressed with the PS3. I've always been a big fan of the PS3 but then I got to play Warhawk and I was blown away and now its the same with Heavenly Sword. If this keeps up, Sony will have no trouble passing the 360 in under 2 years.
kingofwale @ Jul 26th 2007 9:42PM
to read between the lines. 4.5 million units shipped. close to 4.5 million untils actually sold to customers. that means there should AT LEAST be 600K-700K 60GB PS3 out there. and I'd say there should be around 1 million units out-there when Sony stops producing them.
Time to grab them while you can. :), If Sony can ship out 6.5 million PS3s (5.5 million sold) by the end of this year, it will be a VERY good 08 for Sony. (especially when games like MGS and FFXIII coming out)
It will all depend on further price cuts and strong softwares
kingofwale @ Jul 26th 2007 9:43PM
I meant to say. 3.9 million sold so far (not 4.5), sorry
Alex @ Jul 26th 2007 10:04PM
that's pretty decent market penetration considering the kind of price tag it came with.
however, we need a lot more out there.
and now that Sony is starting to dig its feet in and stand, i can see more units being pushed.
but, i already concede defeat to the Wii.
i don't feel Sony can catch Nintendo in terms of units .
John @ Jul 26th 2007 10:09PM
I agree with humpty, the media hate was a HUGE thing to have to overcome... I remember in the months before it's release, HUGE amounts of speculative fiction about suckiness.
Yet Sony have studiously and relentlessly attacked every criticism leveled towards them, and we are seeing a ramp that is increasingly exponential regarding the acceptance and respect for this system, based on Sony's relentless ability to address these issues-- and some issues they didn't have to worry about, such as reliability and features-- they got that right, out of the gate yet you tend not to see the media address this, amidst the howling disinformation presented by MS and it's clans, a war of lies.
It started with good, solid hardware, blu-ray, built-in wi-fi, high price, and few games.
We saw full backwards compatibility, then upscaling-- that alone would have made me buy one, except I already did.
Then we saw the HD video reviews saying that the ps3 is a premiere blu-ray player, passing all the tests.
We saw more games, we saw Sony get humble as they scrambled to address every concern. These people are warriors.
This was a very big thing, because it was like losing face.
But in so doing, we didn't see losing face, we saw "We are listening to you. And we are working."
Sony put their developers through cross-eyed days and nights, got sued, paid.
We get the games.
Sony gave free internet.
It works.
Constant, useful upgrades, way more and more useful than I ever got using a Windows device.
A clean, intuitive user interface.
Interaction with the folding crowd, to help others.
I could go on and on. The thing is a tank.
I think Sony are showing, more than Nintendo, more than Microsoft, what it means to listen to your audience, and deliver the best you can based on what you hear.
For instance, say that Xbox users asked Microsoft to make a more reliable machine: Microsoft didn't do it. In fact, their Elite has the same shoddy parts as it's sad predecessors... MS responded by saying, "We will fix whatever goes wrong, no matter what."
That is commendable, but it's like getting a 10-year warranty on a Yugo. Anyone who doesn't already own a Yugo doesn't care. They're already buying Hondas.
Sony started out with a great product (Sony IS a hardware company) which had fairly poor support. Through their infrastructure, in a remarkably small space of time, they have corrected any large criticisms that could be leveled at them, even so far as to backtrack on rumble, even so far as to start pumping out quality games like they were competing for money shots.
Nintendo doesn't need to do this: the stakes are too low-- "I want Mario!" (okay, here...)
Microsoft hasn't needed to do this, because through disinformation and media manipulation they have created a powerful myth that they are somehow worthy (decent games helped a lot, in the beginning).
So Sony is the bravest, and has shown the most significant EVOLUTION.
Xbox has not evolved (a SKU without a hard drive, lack of wi-fi, huge reliability problems, paid internet), and the closest to evolution for Wii is going to be when Metroid comes out (though I think it's going to be great).
One other thing: Microsoft recently announced that their "add-on" HD-DVD drive is coming down in price: to $179.
So:
I can buy an MS Xbox360 for $399, with a hard drive, and get a hi-def video PLAYER, for an additional $179= $578
The games still will have to rely on dvd. But I can watch hi-res movies on a failing format.
Oh, wait-- or, I could get a ps3 for $499, that won't break down, with blu-ray, which the games actually use, and oh yeah... it has built-in wi-fi, greater backwards compatibility, etc.
Oh, and yeah, it has a max 2% breakdown rate compared to the Xbox's 33% failure rate.
Hmmm.
I wonder which company I should put my trust in?
The company that makes a great product and listens to my requests, even going so far as to read ps3fanboy on a regular basis? (that's just smart)
Or the company that bullies people, breaks down, and offers me ever more violent fps games for me and my family?
Darkdrium777 @ Jul 26th 2007 10:19PM
Well thats a nice rant John. I agree: it's nice that Sony actually reads and cares about what the consumer thinks and wants :)
The only negative point I hold against them is that they could have done so much more in the dead zone we are passing through right now. There was E3, and then that was it. Think of it, we're starting to see the E3 demos, Heavenly Sword just came out. What happened to the rest?
I just hope it doesn't hurt them too much in the long run. Now that the good things will come out, keep them coming ;)
Alphabetpictures @ Jul 26th 2007 10:25PM
@ John.
You need to get your own site on forum. That was just awesome. That just about wraps up everything I've had on my mind for a very long time. You reminded me of myself talking to my friends when they questioned my buying of a PS3. Ha, now to think they all have one too.
Cagalli @ Jul 27th 2007 12:12AM
I had a 360 and sold it. All the games I want are coming out on PC as well. 2008 will see a lot more games, probably a ton we've never even heard of, so I would just give it more time if I were you. Things are now looking up.
B1gC72 @ Jul 27th 2007 12:19AM
@ John
wow man, great rant. you should write "Sony Playstation: The Movie" lol. there wasn't a thing you said i didn't agree with. i love and support Sony and with the way things have been panning out, i will continue to support them.
oh, you should have this JesusPlays4Tips character as your antagonist for the movie. what a jackass lol. if you hate PS3 so much, why come to PS3fanboy.com? i dont like Xbox 360, but do you see B1gC72 over at Xbox360fanboy.com bashing it? to think, the whole time he was ranting he could have been playing his precious 360, but he can't seem to get that dammed PS3 off his mind lol.
secret @ Jul 27th 2007 12:37AM
Thank you John...
secret @ Jul 27th 2007 12:42AM
Whenever I see comments from these xbox360 fanboys, I'm feeling more and more proud to not be an xbox360 owner. They seem like hicks or something.
Thomas @ Jul 27th 2007 12:42AM
The PS3 is in the processing games that were supposed to be ready at launch... Lair, Heavenly Sword, we just got Rainbow six... I mean.. Sony comes to the table with the highest priced system, and the least amount of content... you can't win like that... with the lineup of games from 2007, the PS3 is going to look like during chrismas and will do much better in 2008.
Ryan @ Jul 27th 2007 1:04AM
Ok, this is a PS2, then 360 fan talking here, and while John's 'short story' there was amusing, it doesn't really come out clearly, or truthfully.
"I can buy an MS Xbox360 for $399, with a hard drive, and get a hi-def video PLAYER, for an additional $179= $578"
You act like everyone out there wants a 360 to watch HDDVD. If they wanted that, they would buy an HD DVD player for cheaper than the system, something Blu Ray hasn't done yet. 100% of the reason that I bought my 360 was for the games. I don't give a rat's ass about HD movies right now. I'll wait 3 years to see how this ruckus ends up.
"The games still will have to rely on dvd."
Has there been a game released on DVD where the developers said they could have used more space? Most games don't come close to full capacity, and by the time they do, the next wave of systems will likely be out.
"But I can watch hi-res movies on a failing format."
Yes we get it. HD DVD is getting it's ass kicked right now, and will probably lose the war. I don't care, for reasons stated above, as well as the fact that I like what blu ray has to offer more. They have every studio supporting them but Universal. Sounds good enough to me. Plus the storage capacity is larger, where it is a bigger issue than it is for games.
"Oh, wait-- or, I could get a ps3 for $499, that won't break down, with blu-ray, which the games actually use, and oh yeah... it has built-in wi-fi, greater backwards compatibility, etc."
Just about any game of significance on the original Xbox can be played on the 360 now. It doesn't matter so much for me, since I hated the Xbox, but it there.
"Oh, and yeah, it has a max 2% breakdown rate compared to the Xbox's 33% failure rate."
This seems to be the only "go to" argument that can be used against the 360. Now, besides the fact that your using completely unconfirmed statistics, you also have to note that the 360 has sold almost 2.5 times as many consoles as the PS3, not to mention the fact that it came out a year earlier, when the technology was less reliable. But as a whole, the 360 failure rate has been a huge exaggeration by the media and fans of opposing companies alike. Sure, you hear these outrageous stories of people who have had their 360 break down nearly a dozen times, and sent it in to get it fixed, but don't you get it? They loved their console that much. (Plus they probably had plugged in next to a radiator or something.)
"and offers me ever more violent fps games for me and my family?"
Well now that's just uncalled for right there. Yeah, only 360 has the shooters. It's not like the PS3 has Resistance, Ninja Gaiden, or Metal Gear Solid or anything like that. It just so happens the highest selling games for the 360 usually tend to be shooters. So what? If you want games simple and tame enough for children, go buy a Wii.
Now I have been a Sony fan for much of my life, or it's life rather, and very much looked forward to getting a PS3 when all the big talk started up in mid to late 2006. But then when it was announced at a $600 price point, and the then rumor that games were going to be as high as $90, as well as the fact that they lost the coveted GTA debut exclusive, I felt at had to look to greener pastures, or at least explore my options.
First I looked at Nintendo. Sure, the whole motion thing was a neat gimmick, and the Virtual Console idea seemed wonderful, as well as the rumor that it was going to be $199, but I quickly ran out of things to look forward to.
So then I came upon the already released Xbox 360. I hadn't really paid attention to it at launch, but now it had been out for half a year and it had quite a game library. After reading up on things like the new Xbox live, marketplace, the gamerscore feature, as well as the impressive amount of games it already had, as well as announced titles, I knew a found a new home.
In January I finally purchased one, and since then have purchased 10 games, several accessories, paid $50 a year's subscription to Xbox live (which I consider a steal), and have had ZERO failures.
I still keep a watchful eye on what Sony has had to offer the last eight months, and have really found nothing of interest. Most of the titles for PS3 that I like are available for the 360 as well. The only thing that would make me consider buying a PS3 would be for MLB: the show. I can only play the PS2 version, and a graphical upgrade would be nice. But shelling out $660+tax for a prettier baseball game just doesn't sound too appealing right now.
mike @ Jul 27th 2007 1:53AM
Spin and more spin
Sony originally announced they were aiming for 6m by the end of march after a full 3 months after that it 4.7m
More interestigly for me is the change in attutude on here from leading by the end of 2007 to keeping pace with the 360
##Which was supply constrained for 3 months of its initial launch period##
So i guess congration to sony for having more than 200,000 PS3's available at launch but if you take out those initial supplt issues for the 360 the PS3 is in no way selling on the same curve as the 360 did in it first 9 months
MYPS3KilledMy360 @ Jul 27th 2007 2:10AM
@14 How cheap is a hd dvd player? is the hd dvd 360 sidekick really that much more than a stand alone. do you realize those sidekicks are selling better than stand alones 2 to 1. somebody is buying them. you worry about money but you bought a gold live account pluse 10 games WOW. i for see you coming back to this site to talk about how your system broke down 3 months from now but then again your pride wouldnt bring you to that point.i bought the ps3 because i was thinking about the long run. what games should i expect? variety! what fromat will win? blu ray! do i really want to pay for something im not commited too? nope(cough Live)! what about the abundently biased people i delt with on halo2? most likely there gonna be playing halo3(cough im black i dont even use the N word)! why did you say $660 was that for the extra controller? while your at it why dont you add in the 360s($399) controller($60) and charger($30im not sure its probably more). my router is on the opposite side of my house do i really have to put up a $100 for a wireless connection and i did buy a longer e.net cable.since you dont need the 360 sidekick i wont add it to the list. you dont sound like a fanboy so your not that bad but your way of thinking is just doesnt make sence MS just made it seem like they gave you a cheaper system and now because they didnt want to add there hd dvd drive they doomed there format. imagine if they did release with it a year early blu ray would of been dead on arrivale(i know hd dvd wasnt introduced till the end of 06!
thebigfatj @ Jul 27th 2007 3:10AM
SOLD vs SHIPPED
Sony did not sell 4.5 million units to customers, it sold 4.5 million units to retail stores. Their 'shipped' numbers should be identical. Previously, they were claiming units that they moved from factories to warehouses were shipped (I kid you not).
There are currently a little under 4 million units in homes world wide. I guess that means there are a bit over 500,000 units in stores. That's not a surprising number.
Nando @ Jul 27th 2007 3:58AM
Am I the only one reading this?:
"
Something to note is that they've changed their policy of stating how many systems shipped and are now actually abiding by the industry standard of saying how many systems have actually sold.
"
why do you guys keep saying sony is using shipped when it clearly says they are using sold?
Jldowning @ Jul 27th 2007 4:24AM
@ Ryan
I really didn't get through your post, but when you asked if any games have had issues with DvD on the 360, then have have to look no further then GTA4, and Haze.
Both games are limited because the lack of Harddrives in all 360's and the 9 gig space.
To be honest I think the only thing that has kept MGS4 out of Xbox hands is not loyalty, its the lack of the 360 to be able to play said game.
Sorry but after your first point was about 1 years behind the times, I stopped reading.
carlitobrigante @ Jul 27th 2007 5:10AM
Savage808, I stopped reading when you said MGS4 was basically a GRAW 2 rip-off. That just proves you are a lame xbot that's trying to start shit... I suggest you get your facts straight. Oh, you think GRAW just happened to revolutionize the whole genre? Please...
Oh yeah, and to try and make you argument more convincing, you claim you are a "PS3 owner since December 2006". Hmmm, I don't think so. If you hate the PS3 so much, why not sell it? I don't even think you have a PS3, you're just a lame fanboy spreading FUD.
Good luck with the RRoD. Hopefully it'll happen BEFORE your discs are scratched to death :)
armrob1 @ Jul 27th 2007 9:29AM
after playing the Heavenly Sword demo, I gotta say : I f...ing believe ! I can only imagine MGS4 and GT4.
there is no Xbox360 game that made so much impression on me after playing it for 3 minutes.
if this is what the PS3 can bring, for those who still can't afford it, selling a kidney should probably be one of your last options but it would probably worth it, lol
Xiru @ Jul 27th 2007 9:39AM
Ok to clear a few things up. Sony is stating SOLD not SHIPPED. 4.48 million have been SOLD to the consumer. Stop stating that there are only 3.9 million sold because its not true. That was the whole point of the article linked inside this post. Now to the guy who said when has a developer claimed that dvd wasn't sufficient. Take GTA4 for example. Rockstar claimed in an interview somewhere that since the 360 has no hard drive, it would limit what they could do. This is a prime example of why dvd is holding back the gaming industry. Also, heavenly sword is a beautiful game. I've never been impressed by any 360 game other than GoW. Both Warhawk and Heavenly Sword have me drooling over the new PS3 games. This is what we can continue to expect from Sony.
Iridium @ Jul 27th 2007 10:53AM
Your comments: Well we do have the attack army of paid Microsoft propaganda bloggers
to deal with. Pretty sure a few of them post here.The 33% failure
rate didn't come from some vapor cloud floating above the heads of
PS3 owners. It came from retailers who recieved so many systems back
that they had to stop taking them in. Best Buy and Circuit City had
to be losing thier shirts on warranty cost if people bought the
replacement warranty. Don't think for a second that wasn't the real
reason for the warranty extension by Microsoft.That way they don't
have to deal with the RMA merchandise from retailers along with a
hefty 10% or more return fee attached to it. Over the long run it
would have cost Micrsoft a lot more than a billion dollars.If I was a
retailer I wouldn't even care about carrying 360 hardware. They don't
make any money on the system and you have the DS and Wii that are
flying off shelfs. Plus the PS2, PSP, and PS3 to generate money. The
360 never really ends up being worth it.Sales of the PS3 haven't been
great but it is still ahead of where the 360 was at the same point in
its lifecycle. You also have to remember that the 360 didn't have any
competition. 360 sales have been flat also selling at half the per
month rate it did the year before. That isn't the course for a system
that is going to sell 50-100 million units. To be on track for that
the 360 should already be reaching over 15 million heading strong for
20.Nearly every game on the 360 can be played on another console or
the PC. Even the Microsoft exclusive ones. Sure you might have to
wait awhile but if you've never played it, it's still new to
you.Microsoft doesn't have the bully position it was in before. Vista
stand alone software isn't exactly flying off shelves or the Zune.
They can't force inventory on stores like they could when Windows 98
came out.When you need to smear your competitors with negative
propaganda it means you don't really have anything to stand on.
Microsoft resorts to buying out competition and making shady deals
with truckloads of money to stay on top. If thats the kind of company
you like to support just so you can get a Halo fix then go right ahead
but I'd pay $600 to make sure to held keep as much of Microsoft out of
my home as possible.I may need the operating system to run the
software I need to make money but thats as far as I go. But I hack
the OS so I can use my own theme and remove all traces of the windows
brand and that terrible GUI.
Andy @ Jul 27th 2007 11:22AM
I am getting tired of all the Xbox 360 comments being deleted. If there are no extremist comments then everyone just repeats themselves.
I think Sony will come in a comfortable second this time around. By the time consumers realize the Wii has repetitive controls and not enough graphics it will have sold 50 million.
I also think this could be Microsoft's last console. Their gaming division has never made a profit and likely won't. What I would like to see a joint Sony/Microsoft console?
AG23 @ Jul 27th 2007 11:37AM
@Andy
Personally, I am glad they are cleaning up the site a little bit. I wish Joystiq could do the same. Have you ever seen how ridiculous fanboys trash every single PS3 article on Joystiq? I don't know the age demographic of that site but it appears that 80% must be under 15 years old.
It doesn't matter if it is Heavenly Sword, MGS4, Killzone 2, etc. they trash every single thread. Granted, I know Joystiq isn't console specific(they cover all gaming news) but just go over their and read some of the idiotic comments in the PS3 posts.
If PS3fanboy.com did not clean up some of the crap these obsessed troll/fanboys post, it would do more harm than good in the long run as it would deter people from going to the site that were the ones intended to go to this site, PS3 fans. Most mature gamers don't want to deal with that crap day in and day out.
thebigfatj @ Jul 27th 2007 11:54AM
"23. Ok to clear a few things up. Sony is stating SOLD not SHIPPED. 4.48 million have been SOLD to the consumer. "
Ugh, there is so much misinformation. Sony "sells" units to stores, not people. So when they claim they "sold" a certain amount of units, it means they sold them to retail stores. They don't know how many have been sold to customers until the NPD provides estimates. In this instance, 'shipped' and 'sold' can be used interchangeably.
This is *more honest* than their previous effort where they listed their 'shipped' units as those which were shipped from factories to warehouses. The industry-wide assumption is that 'shipped' units are those which are shipped to stores (that's the same as the number of units sold to stores), so Sony was being more than a little misleading when they said they shipped 5.5 million as of March 31.
Consumers have purchased about 4 million PS3s world wide. Sony doesn't sell directly to the consumer, so the units they sell to retail stores are the numbers they're using.
Gamer Andy @ Jul 27th 2007 12:56PM
First of all why does everyone care about MGS4? I don't think I will buy it when it comes out, and would someone explain why they are going to buy it? (I've never really liked the whole series, it is just another shooter however you spin it.)
Second why does this article expressly LIE.
"Regardless, Sony feels that the one-two punch of the PS3 price-cut combined with"
Wrong! Sony does not in any shape or form have a price cut. Sony has put in direct context what is a clearance sale on the 60G PS3.
Also if you want to know how much they have acually sold, it's around 3.8-3.9 million which is 1/3 of the amount that the 360 has sold so far, and a little less than half as many as the Wii has sold.
What the hell is up with this?
"Their goal is to have another 10 million PS3s sold by March 08, which would put it about 50% above where the 360 was at the same time"
What Sony representative said that? That is absolutely ridiculous. So they want to try to sell over 4 times, or 400% what they have been selling the past year? That's just not going to happen. They are going into a very bad situation later this year with a couple good games being shadowed by the best line up in gaming history (Xbox 360.) I predict that Sony will sell 50% as good in the late fall, since their original install base will be gone, and the only PS3 model available will be the 80G 600$ model.
Also about all this filtering, I love how some people are saying:
" don't know the age demographic of that site but it appears that 80% must be under 15 years old."
"If PS3fanboy.com did not clean up some of the crap these obsessed troll/fanboys post, it would do more harm than good in the long run as it would deter people from going to the site that were the ones intended to go to this site, PS3 fans. Most mature gamers don't want to deal with that crap day in and day out."
(Sorry to jump on you but these are very, very funny.)
Think about it. The general "age time" of the consoles seem to go along this line:
Wii- The smartest part about Nintendo's new product is that it's creating a new market of buyers. It seems to be missing the previously thought of userbase (10-16.) But "Alpha" moms, little kids, or even grandma might pick up one of these new "toys."
Xbox 360- To use the words of David Jaffy in a 1UP interview "The Xbox 360 runs the risk of being seen as... only a hardcore gaming platform." This is pretty self explanitory. The Xbox 360 age would range between 13-25 (Usually, obviously there are some people who over or a few who are younger but we are talking about the majority.
PS3- Like the PS2 the playstation 3 goes after the previous install base of the 10-16 range. There's really not much else to say here.
AG23, you seem like a pretty like a fairly mature person and yet you are trying to say that... Only knowing one side of the battle/story is a good thing. Remember knowledge is power, and what your bashing is not only freedom of speach but the best part about the internet. Debating, arguing, or spreading idea. However you name it.
Look at the next 2 comments! Those are reasonable and I feel the same way. I am absolutely appalled that they are deleting anything that they do not like. It's exactly like what Hitler or any other dictator does to silence and stop rebellion. But if you say you support that go ahead. It's your life and your decision, just keep off these boards.
Jldowning & carlitobrigante your ignorant. Just because they arn't fully supporting the PS3, just because they're pointing out obvious flaws with the article or PS3, you think they they are are lying. LIVE OUTSIDE THIS WEBSITE BUBBLE! Carlitobrigante you claim that he doesn't have a PS3. Why the HELL would he come to this site and try to help you if he didn't have a PS3? Oh wait, that's right... he does. Once you both have good arguments that doesn't make it seem like you guys haven't read the news in a couple years I might listen to you.
There. Oh, and go ahead and delete this if you think it's too informative for this site.
redspear @ Jul 27th 2007 1:46PM
@ thebigfatj
It is kind of pointless to argue they don't follow sales like you or I do. In the end it is inconsequential anyways. Consumer and retail sellthrough really only matters to publishers and manufacturers and investors.
Anyways I will through in my statement.
When you buy a PS3 from Best Buy, Circut City, Game Stop or whatever shop you buy it from you are THEIR customer not Sony's customer. The PS3 you bought from the store is owned by the store.
Sony's customers are middlemen who are distubitors and large retail chains like Gamestop, Best Buy, Circut City, etc. Sony SELLS them them their product and THEY OWN it. So to sony it is SOLD. This release states that SONY SOLD 4.5 MILLION TO THEIR CUSTOMERS(BEST BUY, CIRCUT CIY, ETC) NOT YOU.
What does it matter you say? Well it is not out of whack for one this would mean less than a million on the shelves which is normal and not bad and far from the channel stuffing MS did last year. With only a few hundred K in the stores stores will be less hesitant to order more in the future instead of focusing on trying to sell off warehoused stock.
Sony sells to retail they do not care what happens after that except that they want to be able to ship more so they want their product to be sellable to the retail chains.
Sonys customers
Best Buy
Circut City
Comp USA
Game Stop
Sony Style
any store
Third party distubutor
Not YOU
Scott Krueger @ Jul 27th 2007 2:01PM
View from an Owner of Both the 360 and PS3.
Backwards Compatibility.
99% of my PS2 games work vs 10% of my XBox1 Games.
Online, Free on PS3, $50 a year on 360.
Rosters for NCAA; $5 download to ANY Memory Card including USB. 360... XSata Hard Drive Interface with Beta Software or Mail in a Memory Card.
Transferring PS2 or XBox1 Gamesaves;
$15 adapter on PS2,
$100 for Memory Card + XSata Interface + Computer needed to do it with Ridiculous Software.
I hate my 360 after owning my PS3.