PlayStation 3 sales increase 178 per cent

Sony's Christmas push seems to be working. For the week ending 13 October, there was a 178 per cent increase in sales of the console over the previous week, according to Chart Track, the official UK game industry sales tracking body.

On 10 October, the 40GB PlayStation 3 went on sale in the UK, along with a new Value Pack for the 60GB machine, which includes two first-party games, and costs £349 -- a £76 drop.

The week was the third biggest week for PlayStation 3 hardware since it was launched in the UK on 23 March -- the first and second being the two weeks after it was launched. However, the figures weren't enough to get the PS3 the top slot -- the DS Lite sold the most number of units, followed by the Wii, then the PS3 and then the Xbox 360.

Chart Track director Dorian Bloch commented, "The PS3 60GB is proving very popular, even with the introduction last week of the 40GB model. Eighty-nine per cent of purchasers opted for some form of 60GB model, since this is sold with at least two games for only £50 more than the 40GB model, and sometimes other extras... check some retailer Web sites and you'll find Blu-ray discs also included for £350."