The PlayStation 3 has sold 70 million consoles worldwide, equalling the Xbox 360's total, CVG reports.
On top of that, the PlayStation Move -- the PS3's motion-gaming controller -- has sold more than 15 million units worldwide, compared to 18 million Kinects. Not bad going at all, but hardly the market domination Sony enjoyed with the PS2.
Less than a month ago, Microsoft announced it had sold 70 million Xbox 360s. The two consoles launched a year apart, with the Xbox 360 hitting the shelves in the UK in December 2005, and the PS3 in November 2006.
At the end of March this year, the PS3 had sold 63.9 million units, so there's still life in the old dog yet. Six years is ancient for a console, so it's good to see the old blighter still shifting. There are some pretty exciting games on the horizon too, such as GTA 5. It's got some way to go before it eclipses its mighty predecessor -- the PS2 sold more than 150 million units in over 10 years on sale.
Sony updated the PS3 recently, making it even thinner than the Slim version already available, and 25 per cent lighter. It's also half the size of the original PS3. It loses the slot-loading disc mechanism in favour of a sliding disc panel on the top. There's a £150 version that comes with just 12GB of flash memory too, if you're on a budget. Or you can opt for the full-fat 500GB or model for around £230.
Both the PS3 and Xbox 360 are lagging way behind Nintendo's Wii though. As of 30 June this year, the Wii had sold 96.6 million consoles around the world in the six years it's been on sale. Its successor, the Wii U, went on sale on Sunday in the US, but us Brits have to wait until 30 November -- next Friday -- to get our hands on one.
But when will the PlayStation 4 be out? All rumours point to a launch next summer, with it going on sale by next Christmas.
Did the slimmer PS3 win you over? Will you be getting a Wii U for Christmas, or waiting for next year's next-gen consoles? Let me know in the comments, or on our Facebook page.
Android App 
RSS Feeds 
iPhone App 
Newsletters 
Comments 7
Add your comment
anonymous 19 November, 2012 12:41
Sorry I just do not believe this..........So Sony sold neary 7 million consoles in 6 months? moving onto the Kinect versus the Move sales figures. I know NO-ONE with a move and everyone I know has a Kinect....so has Sony bought those moves?...everyone I have ever spoken to who has owned a move (me included) said the same thing its like going back to 2006 playing with the move but the Kinect is like something from Star Trek!
anonymous 19 November, 2012 13:07
@anonymous Go suck on Bill Gates's balls, you know you want to. These are official figures, the keyword official so get over it. About PS Move, nobody you know owns one because you're all Xbox fanboys and you saying Sony's buying them is ridiculous and shows your a Xbox fanboy. Plus it's sold well because it's a really good piece of kit and many people enjoy using it.
JSK73 19 November, 2012 13:17
@anonymous 19 November, 2012 13:07
I have both so I'm not a Fanboy of Xbox or PS and @anon 12:41 is right. The Move was rubbish. Anyone who bought one (me included) used it for 15 minutes, realised it was rubbish and then put it on ebay. If Sony are counting sales of s/h units as "official" then yes they probably have sold that many.
anonymous 19 November, 2012 13:55
@JSK73
I know a few people with Kinect and they used it for about a week, and they wish they didnt buy it.
It is a gimmick, Move is also a gimmik but it only cost £30 for the full set. you can use it for a week and leave it.
I hope the next gen of consols dont have these shitty motion controls. leave it to the Wii U for the kiddy motion control games.
JohnsonDion1 19 November, 2012 15:03
I think if I ever buy a next gen console it will be a Wii U, purely because I have a xbox 360 and a playstation 3 and I find them both irritating to use, but the Wii is just fun messing about with some archery or trying to beat my friend at Mario Kart. I dont own a Wii but most the people I know have a Wii and I always enjoy using one when I visit. I think Nintendo will bring out a cool game on the Wii U which will make everyone buy one, (like Wii sports on the Wii) and it will be the most sold console for another 6 years, and this time I wont get either until a few years of all three being released.
ElDiabloJuanCarl 19 November, 2012 20:46
@JohnsonDion1
Confused, what is it that is irritating about the Xbox & PS3 that is not irritating about the Wii?
Agree, Mario Kart is still probably the most fun to play with friends game ever, but not so sure if the Wii U will be a hit. It would need to sell tens of millions of systems before most game developers would consider the extra development needed to integrate the controller into the game mechanics in a meaningful way. Also the controller does not seem to add 'fun for the family' the way the original Wii controller did, so I don't think it'll be the family hit it's predecessor was either.
anonymous 20 November, 2012 21:31
Fanboys, calm down! The 70 million PS3s is the amount 'sold' to retailers, the 63 million was actual amounts sold to the public - hence the 7 million increase in 7 months. Come the end of the holiday season it will have sold close to that many. The Xbox will still have sold more but the gap continues to close. They'll probably end the generation (when the next ps and Xbox are released anyway) pretty much neck and neck.
Neither Kinnect nor Move are as pivotal to the system as the wiimote to the Wii, hence the relative lack of uptake. They're both fun (novelty value really) but limited and most probably are not going to be the future of gaming. Maybe they just need a killer cooking game like the Wii had....