There has been plenty of debate as to whether releasing an even slimmer PS3 Slim was a wise move by Sony, or business suicide at a time when their finances are already in a precarious state. However, looking at the impressive sales figures of the new 500GB super slimline PS3, Sony can feel pretty happy with themselves, as well as somewhat relieved.
The latest sales reports from GFK show that the arrival of the new PS3 model has boosted the console’s sales by a massive 138%. No doubt the naysayers will be eating their hats after seeing these figures, which fly in the face of the speculation that the PS3 was on its last legs (if it really is, then it’s making one hell of a last stand).
The new PS3 model doesn’t really offer anything new to gamers (like a highly-desired backwards compatibility feature), but it’s only around 3/4 the size and weight of the current models. Aside from the 500GB model, we here in Europe will also be receiving a perplexingly insufficient 12GB model, which will apparently be aimed at the more casual PS3 users.
With the gaming community bracing itself for the Nintendo Wii U to land before Christmas, the promising sales of the new PS3 model will make it a competitive Christmas period for games consoles. Maybe Microsoft need to release something along the lines of an Xbox 360U Slim to keep up with the others? Or maybe they think it’s worth holding out until they can show us something that will really blow us away…
