Unconfirmed Japanese PS3 launch numbers

[SpOoNmAn]

Hardware:

PS3 20GB: 32,000
PS3 60GB: 51,000
Total: 83,000

Software:

- Ridge Racer 7 Bandai Namco: 27,000 (38%)
- Gundam Bancai Namco: 20,000 (26%)
- Resistance Sony: 16,000 (40%)
- Genji Sony: 10,000 (20%)
- Sega gulf club Featuring Miyazato Family Sega: 3,000 (24%)

LOL they love them some Riiiiiiiidge Raaaaaaaaaaaaaacerrrrrrrrr. It will be interesting so see if Japanase gamers embrace a certain game, doubtful knowing how fickle they are.

[SpOoNmAn]

Launch report from Japan...

*Muted launch for PS3 in Japan*

The PS3 launch is likely to remain Japan's most unusual for many moons to come. The man on the street expected Sony to put its considerable marketing clout in full motion months ago, but the first PlayStation 3 commercial arrived only few days before the launch. No ads could be seen in the streets of Tokyo to inform the public that the launch of a new PlayStation console was imminent. In contrast, Wii is everywhere, but it's also true that Nintendo has to explain what it is about to introduce to market. So on Friday November 10, the day before PS3's launch, the absence of queues in Tokyo came as no shock. Just a surprise.

The uncertainty about the number of units going on sale may have convinced people to stay at home. While Sony announced 100,000 units would be available, the Nikkei Shimbun later confirmed that only 80,000 would ship for launch, and created huge confusion in the mind of gamers and stores alike. Shops in Tokyo's famous Akihabara district were allocated 100-150 units. In total, more than 1,000 people would get a PS3 there. Much smaller game shops could secure only a couple of units. Tsutaya in Shibuya, which normally plays host to countdown events - as it did for PS2 and Xbox - only had 300 machines confirmed. A few major retailers like Bic Camera or Yodobashi Camera were expecting much more, at least 1,000 units, the former expecting 1,200 units at its main store in Ikebukuro and 1,100 in Yurakucho (the business district in central Tokyo). Meanwhile, Yodobashi Camera was getting more than 1,000 units at its game-oriented shop in West Shinjuku and another 1,000 units at its new huge centre in Akihabara. Even so, the scarcity of pre-order campaigns was marked.

Uncertainty about shipments forced many stores to sell their units on the launch day itself - obvious nervousness about running pre-orders schemes keeping pre-release hype at bay. Very few online shops went with pre-orders. Even Sony's PlayStation.com website refused to offer hardware pre-orders, just software. So basically, getting a PS3 on day one meant queuing, possibly a couple of days before the release. And even that wouldn't definitely secure you Sony's new console.

In Akihabara, stores shunned PS3 pre-orders in the face of expected shortages, but also to counter the "Chinese" issue. Since the launch of the PS2, Chinese buyers have become a common sight in Tokyo, working in large groups to secure as many units as possible. With PSP and DS Lite, they became organised into networks, even employing local homeless people to increase their chances of success. To avoid troubles (particularly with angry Japanese gamers), the Akihabara stores decided to sell most of their units via lottery. People were given a coupon with a number. At a given time, winning numbers were announced, and the person with the right coupon was able to buy their PS3.

This almost worked, as most of the foreign buyers gathered on locations where "normal", first-come first-served sales were taking place. And indeed, at Ikebukuro's Bic Camera and West Shinjuku's Yodobashi Camera Game, Chinese was by far the most common language heard in the long queues snaking through the streets. While some South Koreans were also present, a large European presence was also noticeable. In front of the Japanese media, many of them confirmed they were here to get a PS3 and sell it online.

The PS3 was sold out at Shibuya's Tsutaya six hours before the official launch. The first buyer was waiting in front of the store for 30 hours. Even Bic Camera's store in Ikebukuro saw all its 1,200 units sold out by 6am, despite stores across Tokyo apparently only putting the machine on sale from 7am. Ken Kutaragi and others officials chose Yodobashi's Akihabara and Bic Camera's Yurakucho centres for the official countdown event.

In Akihabara, the lottery kicked off. People were anxious to know if they had a winning ticket and also if their number would get them a 60GB unit, not the 20GB version. The 60GB pack was the model desired. In places like Ikebukuro or West Shinjuku, coming at the end of the queue meant getting a 20GB pack. People in front were given paper to fill so they could select the desired model of PS3, games and accessories.

The PS3 was sold out in Japan before sales actually started.

Queues were closed as the number of people queuing matched the number of units delivered to the store. No date was confirmed for the next shipment. As for the games, stores acknowledge the line-up was far from stellar, and this worked in favour of Ridge Racer 7, certainly the most reliably bankable launch title. On average, buyers spent a little more than 70,000 yen (EUR 463 / GBP 311). Rapid shortages of some accessories indicated low stocks of hardware other than the machine itself.

Real problems did not wait for the machine to go on sale. The police had already been in action in Akihabara the day before. A few cases were reported of units being stolen while the trucks were delivering precious shipments to stores.

It is too soon to evaluate any technical issues the PS3 is facing as users are exploring their new acquisitions. SCEJ has already posted an online database with the details on each game. Most of the PS2 online games seem not to work properly on the machine - Final Fantasy XI, Front Mission Online and Nobunaga Online most notably. Even Gran Turismo 4 is experiencing troubles. SCEJ indicates that those issues should be fixed with patches soon. Some users are already reporting PS3 games freezing during play and some other technical issues.

Handicapped by the limited number of units available, the PS3 launch may not have been the huge success the PS2 was. But all the stores are happy that the machine is now out there. This is, and will remain, an incredibly important event, if a low-key one.

We'll be bringing you news from the US PlayStation 3 launch on 17th November, where 400,000 units are confirmed for retail.

Source

It'll be interesting to see if anything sells even remotely as well as Resistance will here in the states.

[Kid Pyrrhic]

The Japanese market loves Ridge Racer. Its actually exceedingly hard to find a non-Japan match on RR6, so the sales numbers aren't surprising.

I am a little surprised at how well Resistance has sold though.

[SpOoNmAn]

It has sold better than expected because theres not much at all available on the system.

[Frodo 13]

I don't want to turn this in a 360 vs PS3 thread but how many units were sold on the 360 during launch in Japan, US, and Europe.

[Kid Pyrrhic]

I couldn't find the exact launch day numbers, but by the end of the year they were approximately

US: 900,000
EU: 500,000
JP: 100,000

And these are numbers sold, not Sony's "number shipped" they often toss around.

I forgot to mention my source. Its from Microsoft's FY2006 2nd Quarter Report. Its floating around in powerpoint form on their site.

[SpOoNmAn]

Whatever was shipped/manufactured for ps3 & 360...Sold, period. The same will happen for the Wii in all territories, and the same will happen for the ps3 in the states(and Europe, if it ever makes it there).

The days of seeing who sold more are over. Now its who can make more and whatever is ready to go WILL sell.

There were between 350,000 and 370,000 360s shipped to the US, all sold within 3 days.

There were 150,000 or more shipped to Japan(almost double what sony had ready for their own territory) and I think something like 60,000 sold there in 2 days and after that, all 360 sales halted, lol.

Another 320,00 or so 360s were shipped to Europe and those sold out as well.

Launch amounts manufactured/shipped/sold:[and correct me if Im off]...

360:
U.S. = 350,000 (Sold Out)
Japan = 159,000 (62,000 Sold)
Europe = 320,000 (Sold Out)
Total: roughly 790,000 units manufactured

PS3:
U.S. = supposedly 400,000
Japan = roughly 88,000 (Sold Out)
Europe = ZERO
Total: roughly 488,000 units manufactured

Wii: *Atleast 2 million ready to go, rumored to have much more manufactured*
U.S. = Plenty
Japan = Plenty
Europe = Plenty
Total: 2,000,000 units manufactured

**Kid Phyrrics numbers are correct, 1.5 million after a few weeks. You can't sell what you don't have manufactured. If Nintendo does have 2 million ready, Sony will be playing catch up for a while. Granted, if they had 2 million ready, they'd sell out in 24 hours, but they dont have many ready to go now do they?

[Jon Liu]

two million?! Holy shnikies!

[Frodo 13]

Thanks for the info Kid and Spoon.

[GoatMother]

Originally Posted by Kid Pyrrhic

I couldn't find the exact launch day numbers, but by the end of the year they were approximately

US: 900,000
EU: 500,000
JP: 100,000

And these are numbers sold, not Sony's "number shipped" they often toss around.

I forgot to mention my source. Its from Microsoft's FY2006 2nd Quarter Report. Its floating around in powerpoint form on their site.

Tossing around shipped numbers is somethign they all do and something MS has done just recently with the 360.. It's pretty hard to do sold numbers as you can walk into one best buy and find 40 360's sitting on shelf, plus it looks better on paper to say 6 million shipped instead of however many have actually sold.

[Kid Pyrrhic]

Originally Posted by M.C.

Tossing around shipped numbers is somethign they all do and something MS has done just recently with the 360.. It's pretty hard to do sold numbers as you can walk into one best buy and find 40 360's sitting on shelf, plus it looks better on paper to say 6 million shipped instead of however many have actually sold.

Um...Microsoft sold 6 million units, not shipped. Out of the big three, Sony is the only one that reports shipped units over sold units.

http://www.microsoft.com/msft/earnin...rel_q1_07.mspx


Entertainment and Devices Division revenue growth of 70% over the prior year was driven by demand for Xbox 360™ consoles, software, peripherals, and Xbox Live®. Xbox 360 has sold 6 million consoles worldwide life to date and achieved record cumulative attach rates for software and peripherals in the United States, while Xbox Live passed the four million member mark during the quarter.

Where as Sony issues these (The number of PSPs shipped, not sold)

http://www.scei.co.jp/corporate/data/bizdatapsp_e.html


And Nintendo's financial listing (in pdf form). Also lists in units sold, not shipped

http://www.nintendo.co.jp/n10/news/061026e.pdf

[GoatMother]

Contradicts other articles (from late October) I've seen.. They very well could be counting shipped as sold in your link since they are already out of their hands.

http://www.cepro.com/news/editorial/16209.html

Microsoft Corp. on Thursday said it has shipped 6 million Xbox 360 video game consoles worldwide since releasing the unit about a year ago.

http://www.videogamesblogger.com/200...n-2-months.htm

Microsoft on Thursday said it has shipped 6 million Xbox 360 video
game consoles worldwide since releasing the unit about a year ago.

Regardless the point was many company's use shipped figures and having been doing so for ages as it is much easier to know numbers shipped then sold.

[KEEZY]

It really is kind of strange how little marketing has gone into the PS3. Maybe they know that they'll get plenty of repeat business from the PS2/PSP?