PlayStation 3 sales crash, burn and wither

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82 per cent sales drop after impressive first week

The PS3 console costs almost twice as much in the UK as it does in the US and Japan. Only New Zealanders and the Irish pay more

The PlayStation 3's honeymoon period is well and truly over. After the hardcore gaming elite flocked out in their droves to swap £425 for the shiny black console in the first seven days, week two is not looking nearly as rosy for Sony .

Sales of the PlayStation 3 have crashed severely, falling by a fairly drastic 82 per cent. Week two sales were around the 33,000 mark, meaning that 132,000 less PS3s were sold in the second week than the first.

It also means that the PS3 has so far failed to sell-out in the UK, with an estimated 22,000 consoles still on sale around the country.

PS3 games sales fell also, by 60 per cent. That's despite fairly major title releases including new Virtua Fighter and Virtua Tennis games.

PSP rip-off

More Sony console news is that it has dropped the price of the PSP handheld in the US. Effective immediately, the gaming device is now $30 (£15) cheaper than it was yesterday, with the core pack selling for $170 (£90).

UK gamers will have cause to despair, as once again they are being shunted by the "rip-off Britain" effect. There is no discount destined for the PSP in the UK , meaning that we now have to pay nearly twice as much for the same product.

James Rivington
James Rivington

James was part of the TechRadar editorial team for eight years up until 2015 and now works in a senior position for TR's parent company Future. An experienced Content Director with a demonstrated history of working in the media production industry. Skilled in Search Engine Optimization (SEO), E-commerce Optimization, Journalism, Digital Marketing, and Social Media. James can do it all.