While gamers in the U.S. have been enjoying the PS4 since November 15, our friends across the pond had to wait until November 29 to get their hands on Sony’s latest hardware. It seems that the wait didn’t discourage anybody from picking up the console, however, as it’s already smashing records.
MCV reports that early estimates put PS4 sales in the UK at 250,000 units over the last weekend. In other words, the PS4 is the fastest selling console in UK history. It even beat out last week’s launch of the Xbox One which managed to sell a respectable 150,000 units in the UK.
To further put this into perspective, the PS4 and Xbox One have already outsold the Wii U in the UK. Nintendo’s console has struggled in the territory as some retailers have even pulled the console from their shelves. Unless something catastrophic happens, it looks like the PS4 and Xbox One will have no such problems.
With the US and UK console launches out of the way, we can now set our sights on the Japanese launch for both consoles. The region has traditionally favored the PlayStation and Nintendo brands while the Xbox 360 has only catered to hardcore otaku and Western game fans in the region. It’s not known at this point if Microsoft will try to win over the Japanese audience again like it did in the formative years of the Xbox 360, but the company has repeatedly stated that it still views Japan as an important market.
That being said, the Japanese game market is shrinking. As more players in the country move to mobile devices, it will be harder for game consoles to do business in the country. Of course, a major release in the Final Fantasy, Dragon Quest or Monster Hunter franchises could serve to bring Japanese gamers to next-gen consoles in a big way.
Sony will find out if its Japanese launch will repeat its North American and European successes on February 29. As for the Xbox One, all Microsoft is saying is that it will launch in the region in 2014.
[Image: PlayStation/YouTube]