Last week, several UK retailers dropped the price of the original PlayStation 4 model to £149.99, and some even came bundled with FIFA 17 or LEGO Star Wars: The Force Awakens. It turns out the promotion was a great idea, as GfK Chart-Track (via MCV) is reporting that original PS4 sales rose 359% week-on-week for the week ending October 1.
Additionally, total PS4 hardware sales in the UK last week rose 380% week-on-week, the PS4 claimed a hardware market share of 57%, and overall PS4 sales were 55% higher than Xbox One. Looking at just the slim models for each piece of hardware though, Xbox One S sales were 24% higher than the PS4 Slim, and Xbox One S sales only dropped by 16% in the week following its strong debut.
The PS4 promotion also appears to have helped FIFA 17, which sold 53% of its copies on PS4, while the Xbox One version accounted for 40% of sales. Because of how popular the original PS4 was last week, many customers were unable to get their hands on one, even after paying for it. Eurogamer received numerous emails from people last week saying they paid for the £150 bundle online at GAME, only to be refunded days later.
GAME said, “Unfortunately due to unprecedented demand, the PS4 Bundle containing FIFA 17 and a Now TV pass sold out extremely quickly and we were unable to fulfil a number of orders.” They added that “the bundle will not be available to purchase in the future.”
If you were affected by these cancellations, GAME is ...