Another day, another batch of console sales figures although at least this latest lot are interesting. Ok, no real shocks, but the 360 is a little closer to the Wii than I expected. Anyway, the headline is obvious. As of Jan 3rd 2009 the Wii, PlayStation 3 and Xbox 360 have sold a combined total of 10 million units in the UK. The Wii – unsurprisingly – accounts for most of these sales, with 4.9 million units sold. The 360 is next up with 3.2 million sold, with the PS3 on 1.9 million.
The handheld market is similarly buoyant with the DS and DS Lite selling 8.8 million in the UK. The PSP has sold a surprisingly high 3.2 million. Surprising because hardly any games get made for it anymore. A shame really as I've always liked my PSP – battery aside. So taking handheld sales into account the combined console installed base in the UK is 22m.
So what does this mean? Are games really set to eclipse other media? Or is this a gaming sales blip caused by Wii and DS-mania?
