Top dog

There’s a myth on various forums and websites that the PlayStation 3 is unpopular and the poorest performer of the current generation consoles. It stems from years of disappointing NPD reports, where Sony’s home console has spent the generation lagging behind the Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 in North America. But overseas, things are very different.

Since the turn of the year, the PS3 has been far and away the best seller in Europe. According to numbers revealed by, er, Nintendo, Sony’s home console sells between 50k and 100k units every week. That puts it ahead of the Nintendo 3DS which enjoys a much more modest 30k to 50k sales a week. Meanwhile, the Xbox 360 is forced to sit in third place – though its sales have stalled a little over the past couple of months.

As we already know, Nintendo’s handheld is on top in Japan, but the PlayStation 3 also continues to sell strongly there too.

It's North America that remains Sony’s bogey, where the PS3 is outpaced by the Xbox 360. It is still performing better than the Nintendo 3DS, however.

The data paints a much more promising picture of the PS3’s commercial clout. But, while the European numbers are positive, Sony really needs to rectify its position in North America next generation.

[source mcvuk.com]