PS3 Beats PS2 to 1 Million in the UK

And Sony's console is catching up with the Xbox 360 too.

The PlayStation 2 is widely regarded as a massive success for Sony. If the opening year of the life of console's successor is anything to go by, the company could have another hit on its hands.

The PlayStation 3 has sold more than 1 million units in the UK, Sony told GamesIndustry.biz this week.

Though slower than the Wii, which achieved that feat in under 40 weeks, the PlayStation 3 hit a million sales after 50 weeks, faster than the PlayStation 2 managed when it was introduced in 2000.

Sony is coming off an important Christmas period that saw the console start to flex some of its much-hyped muscle. Sales were helped along by various bundles and price cuts that let people get in at under the £425 price at which the console was initially released.

Sales of the console will likely be influenced by the seeming victory of Blu-ray over HD DVD in the next-generation DVD battle. The last three months have seen several retailers around the world siding with Blu-ray, the native disc format of the PlayStation 3.

The PlayStation 3 is catching up with the Xbox 360 too. Dorian Bloch of research firm Chart Track told MCV this week that Sony's console has been out in front recently.

After a Christmas period that saw the two rivals running even, Bloch said that the "[PlayStation 3] has been outselling 360 for the last four weeks".

Sony representatives were contacted for this story but declined to comment.

Alex Wollenschlaeger
Editor, Kikizo