Japanese Hardware: PS3 Sales Sink Prior To 'Slim' Launch

Weekly sales of PlayStation 3 dropped 58 percent week-on-week in Japan to 2,052 for the week ended August 23, Japanese tracking firm Media Create reported Friday. The drop in unit sales put the PS3 in last place for the week compared to other consoles. Buyers are likely holding off for the PS3 hardware revision, as the fall-off comes just before the September 3 release of the slimmed down, cheaper PS3. Last week at the GameCom conference in Cologne, Germany, Sony introduced the trimmer PS3, and said the console would go on sale in Japan for ¥29,980, down from ¥39,980. While other territories cut the price of the old model PS3 to clear out stock, Sony Japan kept the price of the older, bulkier model at ¥39,980. The Nintendo DSi, still enjoying the tail-end of a sales boost from the July release of the Square Enix RPG Dragon Quest IX, sold 59,578 for the week, the lowest weekly sales for the handheld since the launch of Square Enix's hit game. The older DS Lite hardware sold 5,735, bringing total DS line sales to 65,313. Wii sales dropped from 47,732 last week to 26,972, about the same level of weekly sales prior to the release of Capcom's popular Wii-exclusive Monster Hunter 3. On that game's release, Wii sales quadrupled in Japan. Below are the rest of the Japanese hardware charts for the week ended August 23: DSi: 59,578 PSP: 27,187 Wii: 26,972 Xbox 360: 8,979 DS Lite: 5,735 PS2: 3,295 PS3: 2,052