Profiteers Cash In on PS3 Launch

Report suggests buyers of the new console have little interest in its games.

Just about every hardware launch these days lures out those who want to score on the skewed ratio of supply and demand, and it has been no different with the PlayStation 3. For proof of this, look no further than new data released by Enterbrain this week.

According to data gathered by the firm, relayed by MCV, retailers sold on average 0.98 games per PlayStation 3 this weekend. What that means in real terms is that a lot of people likely bought Sony's new console with the sole intention of selling it on.

And who can blame them? Just hours after the console hit Japan, resellers were offering both models of the PlayStation 3 at more than twice the street price - no mean feat when you consider how steep that was already.

The profiteering is a direct result of Sony's failure to control its launch plans. Faced with unexpectedly low component supplies, particularly of the blue laser diode of the Blu-ray drive, Sony had less than 100,000 PlayStation 3s ready for this weekend's debut.

Reports over the weekend said immigrants were being paid to stand in line to buy the PlayStation 3 for local resellers.

Those that did stoop to buying a game along with their hardware went for traditional fare, scuppering the notion that innovation prospers at hardware launches. The best selling games at launch were Ridge Racer 7 and Mobile Suit Gundam: Crossfire, both of which sold 30,000 copies.

More of this profiteering is expected in the US, where the PlayStation 3 goes on sale on Friday.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo