The recent launch of the 40GB PS3 system worldwide has supposedly caused quite a bit of a stir. The 40GB model loses a few key features, but comes at a significantly reduced price. "Although Sony's game business has not been performing strongly, the first indications of the new lower-priced model's sales look likely to alleviate overly negative impressions of the business," said Nomura Securities analyst Eiichi Katayama.

In previous weeks, the system sold under 30k units on a regular basis. However, the first-week sales for the new PS3 are encouraging, beating forecasts with a surprising sell-through of 65k in Japan. Dynasty Warriors 6, a brand new PS3 exclusive, also performed surprisingly well with 180k units sold. Worldwide, however, sales reached a total of 100k in a single week.

"It's the breakthrough we've been anticipating," Sony CEO Howard Stringer said. "We've been holding our breath." This is a rare occasion where the one-week sales of the PS3 have surpassed Nintendo's tiny behemoth, the Wii. "Obviously, we've taken so much heat over the year on PS3 ... Finally, the turning point has been passed." Hopefully, the price cut will help continue Sony's slowly growing momentum.

[Via Digg, NeoGAF]