Stringer Claims 800,000 PS3s Sold In EuropeStringer Claims 800,000 PS3s Sold In Europe

In a new interview with British newspaper The Financial Times, Sony CEO Howard Stringer has claimed that close to 800,000 units of the PlayStation 3 console have been sold in Europe since the launch at the end of March. Stringer claims that the success of the console in Europe has saved the format from what he calls “the perception wars” that have so far led to disappointing Japanese sales. As well as almost 800,000 units in Europe (it is not clear if this figure also includes Australasia and other PAL territories), Stringer claims that £100 million ($199m) worth of console sales were generated in the first two days in the UK alone. These figures only roughly tally with data from independent sales monitor Chart-Track, which indicated that 165,000 units were sold in the first weekend on sale. At £424.99 a console this works out at a figure of £70.1 million ($140.6m) in revenue for hardware sales. Stringer avoids any hint of triumphalism in the interview, though, stating that the PlayStation 3 was released in Europe "with more games and, perhaps we lived up to the expectations in Europe in a way that perhaps we didn't in Japan". Elsewhere in the interview, referring to loss-making products, which currently include the PlayStation 3, Stringer indicated, “We are very reluctant to give up on unprofitable businesses."