Xbox Looks To Knock PSP To 3rd Place
The PSP has been holding second place for some time now and the Xbox has been dissapointed to be in dead last. But it seems that it is time for Xbox to get back what its lost by pushing Sony out of the way.
Last week was the slowest sales week for the PSP in the UK since it launched, according to Chart Track figures. Chart Track’s data shows that year on year sales are down 32.1% for this period. Sony has blamed the impending launch of the Slim & Lite version of the handheld for the slowdown. The company told industry mag MCV that retailers are ‘thinning out’ stock of the existing PSP for the launch of the new version on September 14th.
ChartTrack director Dorian Bloch said, “There are probably a lot of consumers who are now waiting for Slim & Lite to arrive. The fact that kids are returning to school is also sure to have had a marked effect. There are always bad words to say about a dip like this, but there may well be a sales spike in week 37 after the new console is launched.”
Important-looking numbers from Chart-Track show sales for the 360 in the UK are up 260 per cent week-on-week, while the PSP has suffered its worst week since launch.
As reported by MCV, the change in fortunes for both machines is down to hardware line-up changes. The Elite model and price reductions for existing Premium and Core versions were responsible for the 360 sales surge, which continued into a second week, falling only 20 per cent.
No matter what the reason is we will see soon enough where Xbox will go. Of course if they do happen to overtake the PSP they may lose that place again after the new Slim & Lite has arrived.
