Sony’s PlayStation 3 has broken sales records in the UK to become that country’s fastest-selling next-gen console.

According to Pocket-Lint, 165,000 consoles were purchased in the two days after the console’s launch. These numbers put it ahead of the Xbox 360 and the Wii. They note, however, that does not beat the PlayStation Portable.

The Wii might have beaten the PS3 figures, but Nintendo only had 105,000 consoles available for launch weekend.

Interesting to note here is the fact the PS3 broke records, but it didn’t sell out. If Sony delivered the 220,000 consoles it promised, about 55,000 were still without homes.

Meanwhile, Sony is playing third fiddle in sales elsewhere.

The Wii topped both the PS3 and the 360 in February. Wii sold 335,000 unit. The 360 came in with 228,000 and the PS3 trailed with 127,000.

As Newsweek’s N’Gai Croal has been quoted as saying, the performance “is simply abysmal. The PS3 is sucking wind right now. ... Price is a factor. Some of the negative buzz is a factor. Some of the FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) is a factor. And the lack of a large number of triple-A software titles is a factor."

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Labels: PlayStation 3, playstation 3 launch, ps3, sony, Wii, xbox 360

The official European launch of the PlayStation 3 has come and gone. The inequity has ended. But, it honestly looks as if Sony’s reception in Europe wasn’t exactly stellar. At the very least, the launch sounds like it was almost boring in comparison to earlier releases in American and Japan.

If the snaking lines, the days of camping and massive amounts of hoopla and even the violence surrounding the North American and Japanese launches are considered, the European debut is downright mild.

For instance, Spong had this to day: “Over a hundred people turned up at HMV to pick up a PS3 with a free copy of the sublime Virtua Tennis 3 from Sega.”

And, this: "One guy had even turned up at midnight last night to be the first in the queue!" Simon Winter, PR manager for HMV.

That’s over a hundred in a line and one guy in an early queue. Remember the campouts in front of stores in America? The ridiculous fan behavior? The store manager that made wannabe buyers play silly games that resulted in injury?

MCV confirms the modest lines, “Queues of around 100 people who had pre-ordered consoles waited patiently outside both retailers’ flagship London Oxford Street stores before doors opened – GAME’s at 7am and HMV’s at 7.30am.”

With consoles reported still available after pre-orders were filled, the launch sounds like it went very smoothly, as compared to elsewhere. Perhaps if gamers had known a free HDTV was in the mix at some locations, the lines would have been more out of control?

While the excitement level doesn’t sound up to snuff with what gamers had in store at earlier launches, it sure sounds like the Europeans did this one right. So far, there are no reports of PS3 thefts or buyers getting robbed or beaten. The crazy antics that made headlines with the North American launch just aren’t there.

Whether this is due to a lack of interest in the console or perhaps that European gamers are more civilized than some Americans, doesn’t matter. The fact is, numbers aside, the launch sounds like it went off without a hitch, or at least a big one.

Congratulations Sony. Congratulations European stores. Congratulations European gamers.

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Labels: european launch, PlayStation 3, playstation 3 launch, ps3, sony

As the clock began to tick down on the official launch time for Sony’s PlayStation 3 in Europe, one gaming site was reporting something rather interesting.

While Americans and Japanese lined up in droves, hours and hours in advance for their on-time launch, Londoners don’t seem to be quite as excited. In fact, Tech Digest’s report makes it sound rather bleak for PS3 sales on Friday.

“Even I was surprised by the amount of people gathered in the basement of Virgin's Megastore on Oxford Street today, I thought there'd be *slightly* more than three people queuing for the PS3 30 hours before the big launch,” the writer scribed.

While it’s highly unlikely the line will only remain three deep as Friday rapidly approaches, perhaps this is London’s way of telling Sony it isn’t thrilled with being snubbed during the failed worldwide launch?

How well or how poorly the console does at release will be interesting to watch as it unfolds.

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Labels: PlayStation 3, playstation 3 launch, ps3, sony