110,000 PS4 and Xbox One machines sold in the UK last week
Xbox One price discounting and PS4 Pro launch boost sector
Sales of new Xbox and PlayStation consoles spiked last week in the UK.
The launch of PS4 Pro was a solid one. The machine shifted over 40,000 units in the UK last week (GfK figures shown to Gamesindustry.biz). Sony has positioned the machine as a future proofing product ahead of an expected increase in 4K TV sales, so its first week performance won't prove particularly significant just yet. Combined with normal PS4 console sales, Sony sold over 65,000 machines and generated nearly £20m in revenue.
Xbox One also had a good week, despite not launching a new machine. Microsoft severely cut the price of its console last week, with older models being sold for as low as £170 from the likes of Microsoft's store, GAME and Currys. As a result, Xbox One shifted 45,000 devices, which will help continue the machine's momentum. As a result of the discounting, revenue was just over £9m
Xbox One has been the best-selling console in the UK during both September and October.
However, the most talked about new machine launched last week was Nintendo's NES Mini, which has sold out nationwide with eBay sellers putting the machine on sale for well over the asking price.
The sales of these machines will be a boost for UK stores considering the relatively disappointing launch of recent big games, including Titanfall 2, Call of Duty: Infinite Warfare and Dishonored 2. Watch Dogs 2 arrives at retail tomorrow, and Ubisoft has already warned that pre-orders for the game are lower than expected.