Nearly 90,000 PS3s sold in Japan in two days

Tom Bramwell 17:24 13/11/2006

Meanwhile grey imports reach as much at GBP 1500

Sony sold 88,400 PlayStation 3 consoles over the weekend in Japan according to Japanese magazine company Enterbrain, which publishes Famitsu.

The number falls around halfway between the 100,000 launch-unit target Sony was aiming for and the 80,000 figure reported in the Nikkei Shimbun prior to launch.

The best selling games were Namco Bandai's Ridge Racer 7 and Gundam: Target in Sight, both of which sold around 30,000 units.

The near-instant total depletion of hardware stock has led to a huge number of Internet auctions for so-called "used" PS3 consoles spring up, some with asking prices more than twice that charged by retail.

It's a trend that's even being felt in Europe.

Some web-based importers have decided not to sell the console to clients in the European Union after Sony enjoyed success in its attempts to stifle Hong Kong-based Lik-Sang, which went out of business recently.

But one London-based importer is known to be offering the console, along with its five launch titles, for GBP 1500.

Last month, retailer GameStop began accepting "limited" preorders for the PlayStation 3, asking customers to put down $100 in advance for the system, with a modest expectation of eight units per store in most cases. Now it appears the largest gaming specialty chain in North America won't be receiving even that many systems.

A GameStop representative told GameSpot today that the company received launch allocation numbers from Sony, and that it won't be able to fill its existing PS3 preorders. The representative declined to comment on how many systems GameStop expected to receive, or how short of that figure the company's share of systems would be.

"We are beginning to notify our customers that our initial shipment of PS3 systems will not be what we expected," the representative said. "As this is not an ideal situation, we are asking employees to wait to purchase systems until the second shipment. We are anticipating having systems to cover reservations before Christmas."

For launch day, preorders will be filled in the order they were received, and those who had a preorder but are denied a system on day one will receive something for their troubles. GameStop will give those unfortunate customers (as well as unfortunate employees) a free used game or DVD valued at $19.99 or less when they eventually wind up purchasing the system.

Those who reserved a system won't need to wait long to find out if they can expect a system on launch day. Starting tomorrow, customers who preordered a PS3 will be contacted personally by phone and updated on the status of their reservation, the rep said.

And while it might be a nonissue considering the clamor for consumers to get their hands on the coveted systems, GameStop is also asking anyone with a confirmed preorder to pick their systems up by Saturday evening.


http://www.gamespot.com/news/6161580...s&subj=6161580

Store opens at 7am. At 6am they will give out tickets to all customers in line. The dislaimer is that a ticket does not guarantee a PS3.