PS4 Console Sales Triple in UK After Pro Launches
By Cody Gravelle 25 November 2016
According to MCVUK, the launch of Sony’s PS4 Pro last week has bolstered the company’s console sales significantly, including tripling the PS4’s sales figures in the UK.
Sony has had a rough couple of months – at least for a company that was previously the clear dominant current-gen console producer. Microsoft’s Xbox One has been consistently outselling the PS4 over the past few months, and it hasn’t just been a slight edge. Microsoft, bolstered by the positive reception it has received for the Xbox One S, has begun pulling away in terms of console sales at the perfect time, gaining traction with gamers just ahead of the important 2016 holiday season.
That trend might not continue, however, now that Sony’s own current-gen console upgrade has finally hit store shelves worldwide. The PS4 Pro has been talked up a lot, with various reports suggesting that the PS4 Pro is twice as powerful as the PS4, and the only sticking point many Sony fans were worried about heading into its release was the console’s relatively high price tag. MCVUK, however, is reporting that the console’s price isn’t going to be an issue, as Sony’s console sales have tripled in the UK just a week after the PS4 Pro’s release.
The exact figures for Sony’s sudden boisterous sales were that PS4 sales for the week ending Saturday, November 12, were up a whopping 204%. To expand on that data a little, 65% of the total PS4 sales that week were the PS4 Pro, while the final sales figure placed all PS4 consoles 44% higher than the Xbox One consoles’ sales that week. Sony’s console sales actually represented a 53% console market share, with the Xbox One at just 37% despite the price slashes to original consoles that Microsoft has been implementing recently.
It will be interesting to see if Sony’s success in the UK is replicated in the American console market, which is an entirely different animal, but early indications point towards a huge influx of sales being a distinct possibility. At the very least, retailers appear confident in their ability to move technology using the PS4 Pro as a central focus – Best Buy recently announced a 4K TV and PS4 Pro bundle ahead of Black Friday, and that could just be the beginning for television and PS4 Pro bundles heading into the holiday season.
While the key for Sony will be maintaining these sales figures once the initial hype from the PS4 Pro’s release has died down, in the present the company can celebrate another successful console launch. If the PS4 Pro continues to dominate into the holiday season, however, it will also make PlayStation president Andrew House’s recent claims that the PS4 Pro will stop console gamers from switching to PC look almost clairvoyant.
Source: MCVUK (via VG 24/7)
