Pre-Orders of Sony PlayStation 4 Already Higher Than Launch Sales of PS3

From X-bit Labs: Sony Corp.’s PlayStation 4 video game console is three months away from showing up on the market, but it is already more successful than the PlayStation 3 was in its launch quarter. Pre-orders for the PS4 worldwide are higher than initial sales of the PS3 back in the fourth quarter of 2006. Everything points to the fact that despite of pressure from PC, smartphone and tablets, the launch of next-gen consoles will be triumphal.

Sony Computer Entertainment announced during its press conference at Gamescom trade-show in Cologne, Germany, that it had received as many as one million pre-orders on PlayStation 4 game console. Avind Bhatia, an analyst with Stern Agee, told Forbes web-site that Sony sold less than one million total PS3 units in Q4 2006, which was a fairly lackluster launch hampered by a crippling price point and the fact that the PS3 was launched one year later than its direct rival, Microsoft Xbox 360.

While pre-orders naturally reflect huge interest towards the PS4 system, there will certainly be loads of people looking forward to buy their units in retail. Earlier this year financial analysts estimated that 2.5 million PlayStation 4 units and 2.3 million Xbox One units are to be shipped in Q4 2013. In case the numbers turn to be true, then the launch of next-gen consoles will be triumphal as never before in history of gaming sales have been so high.

Still, record sales at launch do not necessarily guarantee long-term success as early adopters are usually so-called core gamers, who may own more than one console and buy loads of games. Amateur and casual gamers may delay their purchases until systems get more affordable, or even skip consoles as other devices are gaining their gaming capabilities.

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