PS3 sales hit 1M in Japan

Sony's next-gen console breaches million-sold milestone in home-country market.

Back in January, Sony announced it had achieved its goal of shipping 2 million PlayStation 3s worldwide. The company achieved the goal several weeks late, when it shipped its 1 millionth unit to the Japanese market. However, many were skeptical of Sony's claims of success, since the figures were only for units shipped to retailers, not sold to consumers.

Nearly six months to the day later, Sony has finally sold its 1 millionth PS3 in Japan. Reuters quotes Famitsu publisher and Japanese game-industry stat tracker Enterbrain as reporting that Sony's console reached the sales milestone on July 15.

Japan is the last major gaming region to reach the 1 million sold milestone. North America was the first, with nearly 700,000 PS3s being sold during the 2006 holiday season alone, and early last month, the PS3 hit the 1 million mark in the PAL territories of Europe and Australia. The PS3 launched in North America and Japan in November 2006, and went on sale across PAL territories in March 2007.

The Japanese gaming hardware market has been all but cornered by Nintendo since the Wii launched in December 2006. According to Enterbrain's numbers, the Wii has sold 2.9 million units in Japan as of mid-July, more than double the combined total of the PS3's 1 million and the Xbox 360's 420,000 units. In May, the Wii was outselling the PS3 by a healthy margin of 5-to-1.

290 Comments

  • StarDust666

    Posted Jul 21, 2007 5:18 am PT

    chunkybloodfart; yes of course you'll be more than cool. i'd call you brave... !

  • StarDust666

    Posted Jul 21, 2007 5:04 am PT

    jackfatal; they only HALF awake on the 360. Wii is the new coffee. if 360 didn't break, there weren't that many 360's. its logical. the ps3 didn't break because there weren't people play it long enough! surppo; yep, you're getting old. i have 'battered wives syndrome' but i still manage to find whether getting ripped off or not is. if you have $$$ to burn, go ahead a get yourself a ps3. i don't. But its an enjoyment for me to look down on people whom bought one. its great pleasure to read on Gamespot that sony is crazy, sony is ripping people off sony this and that. if you fall in that segment... i'll do what i do best. here's a joke; whats the slowest thing in the world?

  • chunkybloodfart

    Posted Jul 20, 2007 3:46 pm PT

    If I trash talk the PS3, will I be "cool" too?

  • 3G-ENIE

    Posted Jul 20, 2007 2:58 pm PT

    Grats?

  • surppo

    Posted Jul 20, 2007 12:35 pm PT

    why do do many people hate sony at least they didnt screw people with faulty hardware then lie to them about then extend the warranty for the hardware which will break over and over. nobody complained about that but yet you complain about sales of a system you dont own? where is the logic in that, can somebody please help me understand. maybe im just getting old or do some you have battered wives syndrome. if i had a 360 i would be pissed off at ms not sticking my nose in other systems business.

  • rokkuman09

    Posted Jul 20, 2007 11:42 am PT

    Very unimpressive, the Wii is killing the PS3, Sony has made way to many stupid decisions with this console, and they are in serious trouble.

  • edhc44

    Posted Jul 20, 2007 8:20 am PT

    "Sony is getting owned by a "gimmick", a "fad", a "girl's" console."

    That was like the most coherent thing I've ever read!

  • jackfatal

    Posted Jul 20, 2007 5:10 am PT

    @StarDust666

    dont tell me the world waking up on a xbox360???

  • StarDust666

    Posted Jul 20, 2007 3:57 am PT

    stevenhiggster; too good for a console that aimed at EVERYONE. so much for blu ray ps3 ect... its people like you that send sony to its grave. oh yeah the land fills are getting filled with ps3! you should work for sony... making them more money by adding nothing NEW to video games... you boring homophobian, go and play more FPS's... even the GBA is kicking the ps3. shame on sony. its a disgrace... the world is waking up and you're not...

  • Heri012

    Posted Jul 20, 2007 12:13 am PT

    Lol with PS3 crazy price tag and lack of AAA games, I feel pity for M$ after what they done in Jpn. Lol I said it many times 360 is destined to be DOOMED in Jpn....

  • nickythenewt21

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 6:28 pm PT

    That's not a very good number compared to the Wii in Japan.

  • R3DN1N3

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 5:28 pm PT

    stevenhiggster Lets get one thing straight, ppl do buy the wii cause its cheap and gimmicky, my mate bought one and I'll agree its great fun, for about an hour, then you'l prob never touch it again. There is no comparing the ps3 or xbox 360 to the wii, cause its not for serious gamers, it's for girls and children!! and will everyone please stop going on about the price of the ps3, we know its expensive, big deal!!! if you cant afford one, shut up! It's not too dear anyway, the bloody ps one was nearly 400 when it came out, and still now a blu ray player on its own will set you back 600 quid! So go and start saving you plebs.-----------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    Oh? and what do "serious" gamers play?
    Because a game doesn't involve shooting someone down of beating them bloody doesn't make it any less of a game.
    The Wii is for girls and parents huh?
    Well, when I think about how ignorant u are about Nintendo I can see why a company like Sony fell short this generation.
    Sony has the same arrogance towards Nintendo which may have rubbed off on you.
    Yeah Sony has been at the top for 2 generations, but now all this "were' better than the world" attitude is catching up to them.
    Sony is getting owned by a "gimmick", a "fad", a "girl's" console.
    Bash all u want but numbers don't lie and in the end it's these figures that let everyone know what the Wii really is: "EXTRAordinary"
    Go play resistance your "serious" game.

  • soldier1993

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 5:26 pm PT

    PS3 sales is starting to get BOOOOOOSTED

  • Whirly

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 4:29 pm PT

    Hmmm.... I own a Wii and a 360 and I've had one or two consoles from every generation since consoles began - but I've never become disinterested in any of them as quickly as I have with the Wii. Sure my parents liked it when they were over at Christmas - they even talked about getting one (of course they haven't!), and my friends who don't really play games enjoy having a quick go - but its been pretty much collecting dust in my house compared to the 360 which is played almost every day.

    While the Wii has (and will continue) to sell loads because of how cleverly its captured the imagination of people who typically don't play games, I can't see it getting anything like the attach rate (number of games bought per console) the 360 has and PS3 will get eventually.

  • GrimBee

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 3:32 pm PT

    "There is no comparing the ps3 or xbox 360 to the wii, cause its not for serious gamers"..

    Dude, do you even LIKE games? I own the wii, and I think that the Wii games out right now are far more entertaining than the entire ps3 library.

    The xbox 360 has some great games, and its multiple price-points for the console gets lot of different kinds of people into it.

    The Wii is not fun for "an hour" at all, it all depends on what games you like.

    Geez, just because you don't have an entire collection of games which involve blowing up some base or capturing some flags (albeit with some violence added to the mix) doesn't make you any less a gamer.

    Some of THE best games in the world are not graphically complex, and alot of the best games are Nintendo made... go figure!

    The Wii is selling well because I presume people WANT to buy one and enjoy playing it.

    I can't stand people who call themselves "gamers" and only play mature titles... Games are games. If one console has M rated games, and one has E rated games - both consoles are consoles, nothing more, nothing less.

    The beauty of this generation is that you have alot to choose from. And it seems that people like what the Wii is offering right now. And I think that the PS3 should of sold 5 times more, Sony just messed up this year - I thought the ps3 would of been a skyrocket success.

    But if a "kiddy company" can sell more than a playstation product - it not only says something about the company - but also the people who buy it.

  • stevenhiggster

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 3:09 pm PT

    "That's just so typical.
    I mean, your saying here that if the Wii had a price tag of $600 bucks people wouldn't buy it either, but guess this.....
    THEY'RE NOT SELLING IT FOR $600 bucks!
    Sony is. They thought they could create this all powerful machine and slap on some blu-ray driver and expect the same results it got out of the PS2 with it's DVD shooraid.
    Well, people are buying that BS anymore.
    This is the 1st time I heard anyone try to compare the prices of Sony to Nintendo.
    Everytime something like this happens it's always:
    "Oh but if u get a 360 with all the accesorries, plus the HD-DVD drive that comes out to a bigger price tag than the PS3"
    No it doesn't because not all 360 owners are buying the HD- add on, or that racing wheel or that Wifi-Adaptor.
    It's just an old excuse from Sonyfanboys to try to somehow justify the PS3's rediculous price" ----------------------------------------------------------------
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    Lets get one thing straight, ppl do buy the wii cause its cheap and gimmicky, my mate bought one and I'll agree its great fun, for about an hour, then you'l prob never touch it again. There is no comparing the ps3 or xbox 360 to the wii, cause its not for serious gamers, it's for girls and children!! and will everyone please stop going on about the price of the ps3, we know its expensive, big deal!!! if you cant afford one, shut up! It's not too dear anyway, the bloody ps one was nearly 400 when it came out, and still now a blu ray player on its own will set you back 600 quid! So go and start saving you plebs.

  • jackfatal

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 3:07 pm PT

    by the way did u know guys that now x360 also damages the game discs??

    if u didnt know then check it out in the internet!! the some x360 owners suit MS for that and they expect nothing less than 5,000,000 and some other also did the same in cali. i think!! well at least good and bad news for x360 owners!!! really i cant believe that u r still bashing ps3 when ur hardware cant run the software!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  • Azhar85

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 2:45 pm PT

    Sony...Sony..Sony....It's their home country mann....what do you expects..If i'll build consoles in my home country..i'll also expected the same...jeez.

  • onlineps2player

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 1:02 pm PT

    nice days for Sony!!

  • GoddBless

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 12:56 pm PT

    Aw man I was sure the Wii would hit 3mil before the PS3 hit 1mil in Japan. Well they only beat Nintendo by a week. Kudos to MS as well for already reaching the install base of the original Xbox in Japan.

  • samhain_

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 12:52 pm PT

    hey fanboys calm down. the console has been out nearly a year and it has taken this long to sell 1,000,000 in it's own country. this may be good for you fan boys but this is bad for sony. It' should have sold 1,000,000 in the first 4months. you fanboys take anything for granted. look sony has failed for now. except that. they may reign on top in the end, who knows, but right now there about on the bottom.

  • d429

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 12:46 pm PT

    congrats. i think the best console will be the ps3 this year and then the wii. i should buy another ps3

  • Sonovius

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 12:38 pm PT

    DonutTrooper @shadystxxx

    "Heh, he didn't even make it up. He just stole it from someone else who said it and is now obsessed."

    you are like a soothsayer from the future. tell us moar

  • mrsouporman

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 12:27 pm PT

    Congrats Sony.

  • iebubu

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 12:25 pm PT

    ppl r more worried about the wii sales vs the ps3 more than the xbox 360 because the ps3 was suppose to dominate. no one really expected much from the 360 in japan

  • BadMunky

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 12:16 pm PT

    well its about time

  • jackfatal

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 12:03 pm PT

    y every body just focusing on how many wii sold more then ps3?? well that goes for x360 also!!!

    and please gamespot put more news of ps3 there is plenty u can even go to n4g.com see more news if u couldnt find!!! and dont take M$ side!!

  • R3DN1N3

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 11:52 am PT

    Jaster_DCX this number will sky rocket once ff13, mgs, and killzone hit the shelves my friends. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    And so said the 14 year old kid behind the computer......

  • R3DN1N3

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 11:46 am PT

    cpbeats its not people hating on nintendo yodax007, its people defending sony. like i said i have a wii and it sucks because the games are way to kid targeted, my son doesnt even play it though but like i said more power to them, had that system costed $600 like the ps3, they wouldnt have 1 million sold period, so its worth it to the people who have money problems and still want a new(not next gen) system.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
    That's just so typical.
    I mean, your saying here that if the Wii had a price tag of $600 bucks people wouldn't buy it either, but guess this.....
    THEY'RE NOT SELLING IT FOR $600 bucks!
    Sony is. They thought they could create this all powerful machine and slap on some blu-ray driver and expect the same results it got out of the PS2 with it's DVD shooraid.
    Well, people are buying that BS anymore.
    This is the 1st time I heard anyone try to compare the prices of Sony to Nintendo.
    Everytime something like this happens it's always:
    "Oh but if u get a 360 with all the accesorries, plus the HD-DVD drive that comes out to a bigger price tag than the PS3"
    No it doesn't because not all 360 owners are buying the HD- add on, or that racing wheel or that Wifi-Adaptor.
    It's just an old excuse from Sonyfanboys to try to somehow justify the PS3's rediculous price.

  • DonutTrooper

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 11:40 am PT

    @shadystxxx

    Heh, he didn't even make it up. He just stole it from someone else who said it and is now obsessed.

  • Drummerboy1984

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 11:35 am PT

    Maybe b/c Sony is a Japanese company.

  • shadystxxx

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 11:29 am PT

    Sonovius The motion for fangirl has been accepted. unbreakable####, you have the honor of being it's first victim. Welcome to the fold fangirl.

    shadystxx grats you made a new word that should last a few months till the next one.
    ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

    I have always called them fangirls as they remind me of girls bi******.

    Every one should refer to the as the pondlife of the gaming world and fangirls.

  • BV14

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 11:29 am PT

    Sonovius, how in the hell would you know if I owned a 360 or not, why don't you shut up and come back to Gamespot when your 360 takes a dump and tell everybody how glorious Microsoft and Xbox 360 is and tell everybody how you have a 3 year warranty and you will just replace your dead console with another one and if that console breaks you will just replace that one and so on, you idiot.

  • unbreakable4534

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 11:29 am PT

    Well if the worst thing that ever happens to me is being called "fangirl" by you - I think I'll be just fine. At least I'm not embarrassing myself.

  • DonutTrooper

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 11:26 am PT

    Wow, unbreakable is....unbreakable.

  • Sonovius

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 11:24 am PT

    The motion for fangirl has been accepted. unbreakable####, you have the honor of being it's first victim. Welcome to the fold fangirl.

    shadystxx grats you made a new word that should last a few months till the next one.

  • dragonpuppy

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 11:23 am PT

    rasterror, how do you know the dealing of Sony or Microsoft? Do you work for them? Probably not, cause then you wouldn't be on this forum. You don't really know how Sony or Microsoft handles their business so stop talking like you do. For all we know, Sony could be offering MORE *gasp* then Microsoft for making a game on a harder to develop console. By your logic, why then is Kojima and Square Enix developing Metal Gear Solid 4 and Final Fantasy XIII on the PS3 and not the Xbox360?

  • shinmew

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 11:23 am PT

    At least Microsoft is will replace the thing with little to no hassle. So far they have treated me right and 2 other friends. I'm not saying Sony is not as good at replacements, but they PS3 has had as many problems as the 360. Why does it not seem as bad? Because not enough people own them yet. You don't hear of it as much because of this. On a % scale it is about the same. Every system has its problems at some point. You should expect that as a gamer. Not all will require you to mail it off, but they all have problems now days. If you don't want the hassle of mailing it off, buy a 2 year replacement plan at your game store. It is that simple. If you let one little breakdown choose what system you will support then you are overreacting. You never know what might get damaged on a shipment of if it just had a faulty part installed. Perhaps a bad download could be the cause. You could have a bad modem or a bad router. It could be a number of things from your end of theirs.

  • unbreakable4534

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 11:16 am PT

    "Sonovius Or maybe they would have admitted their mistake by doing an unprecedeneted 3 year extension of their warranty perhaps? shut up BV14 you have never owned a 360 you sock puppet."

    Here you go again, man. All you do is smart off, and try to get "fangirl" an accepted term when no body really cares except you. Yeah, MS has put a sour taste in alot of people's mouths (like me) because their 360 has died and ruined the experince of being proud and enjoying your console. The 3 year warranty only covers the red lights, and is "unprecedented" because the system's failure is "unprecedented". So why dont you stfu on here and quit being so smart to people who are just voicing their OPINION, gosh your posts are so lame and not "witty" like you think you are. It's embarrassing.

  • Drummerboy1984

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 11:13 am PT

    I

  • Sonovius

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 11:11 am PT

    Or maybe they would have admitted their mistake by doing an unprecedeneted 3 year extension of their warranty perhaps? shut up BV14 you have never owned a 360 you sock puppet.

  • BV14

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 11:06 am PT

    Is Microsoft taking care of their customers by selling them a $400 dollar console that breaks down, I had a 360, and thought it was the best system, I came on to Gamespot and talked mad crap about Ps3, until my 360 took a dump, now I think that Microsoft doesn't care about their customers or they wouldn't have sold something that breaks down all the time.

  • Sonovius

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 11:02 am PT

    A motion to accept fangirl into popular gamerspeak has been put on the floor. All in favor?

  • unbreakable4534

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 10:59 am PT

    No offence Blancobo, I see your point, but I think the Wii has done more to evolutionize games than the PS3 or 360 has. Dont get me wrong, they're certainly pushing the envelope of gaming technology, but they play the same as last gen, with better graphics. The Wii, yeah, still same graphics, but it plays totally different. The PS3 added sixaxis to their controller, which I dont think would have been done without the Wii's influence. I wouldnt be surprized if MS has some sort of motion sensibility next gen.

  • SavoyPrime

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 10:57 am PT

    Well, that's good news for Sony. Glad to see that their are those in Japan that still like traditional gaming consoles.

  • blancobo

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 10:47 am PT

    Yet the Wii is cheap and basically a glorified Game Cube while the PS3 and the XB360 are next gen consoles with tons of soft/hardware capabilities. Congrats to the Wii on its new market of grannies and kids, but my best wishes go to the PS3 and the XB360 to sustain in providing the cornersone in evolution for games in the near and distant future.

  • jameston80

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 10:45 am PT

    BV14 the 360 only has had the major problem of the three red lights, microsoft is covering that for 3 years since date of purchase, they recently extended this warranty because of those problems, they are refunding anyone who may have paid for their repairs. So microsoft is taking care of their customers.

  • rasterror

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 10:45 am PT

    BV14 actually you are partially wrong. Microsoft offers better business deals with developers which in turn means more money for the developers. Sony, on the other hand, has a rather cocky approach sort of like they have with consumers. Sony believes that you should work for Sony on their terms, like it or not, and you should be the one thankful to be honored with working for Sony. Also the 360 OS is far less complex than the PS3's. The PS3's cell has 8 different cores that you have to program for and the complexity and expense is greater than a simple Windows OS based system that almost all developers are used to working with. So on the one hand you have MS who likes to work and play fare with developers and pay them a decent chunk. Then Sony who cracks the whip, gives you an insane job, is dirt cheap, and when a problem goes wrong blames everything on you. Who would you rather work for?

  • andrew_dueck

    Posted Jul 19, 2007 10:43 am PT

    I don't know why, but I'm still shocked at how readily Japan caved to nongaming.

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