Original URL: http://www.reghardware.com/2009/08/04/ps3_global_sales_aug_2009/
PS3 global sales top 23m units
Xbox 360 still ahead
The PlayStation 3’s latest global sales figure are in, and it seems that Sony still has a long way to go before its console overtakes Microsoft’s Xbox 360.
Since launching in late 2006, 23.8m PS3 consoles have been sold across the world – the Japanese electronics giant has annouced.
But the figure pales in comparison to the Xbox 360 which, as of May this year, had already sold a more impressive 30.2m units.
PS3 fanboys will be quick to jump on launch dates, though, as the Xbox 360 is admittedly the older console of the duo – having been around since late 2005.
However, Sony still has a very long way to go before it’s able to meet its own sales forecast of shifting 150m PS3 units by the end of the console’s lifecycle [1].
Sony’s never said when it’ll kill off the PS3, of course. But, to give you an idea, the PS2 is now roughly nine years old and - as of December last year - Sony had sold a whopping 136m units of both PS2 incarnations.
Gamers have long argued that a PS3 price cut – the 80GB version currently retails for around £290 ($488/€341) – will be the surest way of increasing the console’s sales. But given Sony’s latest financial figures [2], such a move seems unlikely. ®