Sony sold half - EA boss

November 30th, 2006, 18:02 Posted By: wraggster

Electronic Arts CEO Larry Probst has said he believes that just 200,000 PS3 units made it to the US for the console's launch - half the number promised by Sony.

Speaking at the Reuters Media Summit, Probst said that EA previously assumed the shipment figure would be lower than the 400,000 unit target set by Sony. However, he said, "Where they ended up was a bit of a surprise."

Sony has repeatedly stated that new shipments are being sent to the US on a continuous basis, and Probst predicted that between 500,000 and 800,000 units will have been shipped US by the end of the year. "We think they'll get into that range," he stated.

The PS3 launched in North America on 17th November, just two days before the Wii and a week before Thanksgiving weekend.

"Bottom line, I would say that the first holiday weekend met or slightly exceeded expectations," Probst said, adding that the Xbox 360, PS2, PSP and Nintendo DS all selling solidly.

"Clearly the Nintendo Wii had a spectacular holiday," he went on, noting that sales of the new console exceeded EA's expectations.

Probst believes it's far too soon to tell who will win the next-gen console battle, however - and that it could take as long as five years to find out.

Sony has yet to reveal US shipment and sales figures for PlayStation 3, but Nintendo recently announced that 600,000 Wii units were sold in the eight days following launch.

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