PlayStation 3 Launch Conquers UK Sales Chart

Although the console launch may not have been accompanied by the traditional holiday frenzy or hardware shortages, the PlayStation 3’s debut in the UK has had a unprecedented effect on the top forty. All of the system’s key launch titles have charted highly, with a much more visible impact on the charts than either the Xbox 360 or Wii (albeit it at a quieter time of year for sales in general, and without any stock constraints). As previously reported the PlayStation 3 is the second fastest selling home console ever in the UK, behind only the PSP. It is also the most expensive console ever to launch in the UK at £424.99 ($835), but nevertheless saw three times more software being sold than at the launch of the PlayStation 2 – albeit with an almost identical attachment rate of 1.65, compared to 1.67 for the PlayStation 2. Despite the UK press favoring race game MotorStorm it is first person shoot ‘em-up Resistance: Fall of Man which has taken the number one spot, giving Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) its first number one in over a year. Both titles outperformed new entry Brian Lara International Cricket 2007 despite its multiformat availability and a high level of interest in Britain for the ongoing Cricket World Cup in the West Indies. Sega’s Virtua Tennis 3 was another prominent new entry at number four, with the PlayStation 3 version accounting for 61 percent of the game's sales. The sudden rise of Call of Duty 3 at number five is also due entirely to the release of the PlayStation 3 version of the game - accounting for 80 percent of all sales. Despite mixed reviews, motorsport simulator Formula 1: Championship Edition was Sony’s third title in the top ten at number seven. The long delayed release of THQ’s S.T.A.L.K.E.R.: Shadow of Chernobyl on PC is the only non-PlayStation 3 title, beyond Brian Lara Cricket, to make an impact on the top ten, with a creditable debut at number eight. Tiger Woods PGA Tour 07 has slipped only slightly to number nine, again due to the release of the PlayStation 3 version of the game, while the highest new entry outside the top ten is Namco Bandai’s Ridge Racer 7 at number eleven – distributed in the UK by SCEE. Electronic Arts’ Def Jam: Icon debuts at number twelve, with the PlayStation 3 version accounting for 37 percent of sales compared to the Xbox 360 version. Electronic Arts’ Fight Night: Round 3 at number thirteen also owes its rapid movement up the chart to the release of the PlayStation 3 version, while Sega’s Virtua Fighter 5 enters at number fourteen. Electronic Arts’s soccer tournament tie-in UEFA Champions League 2006-2007 debuts at number fifteen, with the much mocked Genji: Days of the Blade entering surprisingly highly at number sixteen. Need For Speed: Carbon’s rise to number seventeen is another beneficiary of the PlayStation 3 launch, although Ubisoft movie license TMNT is available on every format bar the PlayStation 3. Finally, Sonic the Hedgehog re-enters the charts at twenty-four and Marvel: Ultimate Alliance at number forty – again both thanks to the release of the PlayStation 3 versions of the games.

Leisure software charts compiled by Chart Track, (C)2007. ELSPA Ltd