Although Sony has yet to release the official sales numbers for the PlayStation 4 in Europe, the console has moved over 250,000 units in the UK alone, according to GI.biz. That makes it the best-selling console launch ever for that region, although those numbers are based on units shipped and not sold through. By all early accounts though, the PS4 is sold out throughout Great Britain, and some gamers have taken to paying double the asking price via eBay.
Sony tends to keep things like sales numbers under lock and key, at least until the quarterly results inevitably leak out of investor calls. Those typically occur within a month after the end of the quarter, so barring something unexpected – possibly a Sony exec tweeting the sales numbers at Microsoft for fun – expect to hear the official sales numbers at the end of January or early in February. The same is true of Microsoft and the Xbox One. Both Sony and Microsoft have confirmed that they sold over 1 million units in their first 24 hours (Sony in North America and the Xbox One in select markets around the world, including North America and Europe), but exact numbers aren’t available yet.
What we do know comes via confirmation from a spokesperson rather than an official announcement from Sony, and it is specifically linked to sales in the UK. According to GI.biz’s source, the PS4 reached just shy of the quarter million mark in 48 hours, and crossed that milestone shortly after. That makes the launch the most successful of any gaming system in UK history, beating the previous record holder, the PlayStation Portable. The Xbox One is also expected to have done well, moving 170,000 units in 48 hours.
No word yet on PS4 sales throughout the rest of Europe, although Sony has reason to be confident. Between the PS3 and Xbox 360, Sony’s system outsold its competitor by roughly 32.3 million to 25 million units.
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