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Six years later, 525,000 PlayStation 3 consoles sold over Black Friday week

Six years later, 525,000 PlayStation 3 consoles sold over Black Friday week

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PS3 slim logo
PS3 slim logo

Black Friday's price cuts look to have convinced consumers to open up their wallets for years-old consoles. Sony has announced that it sold 525,000 Playstation 3 consoles during the week beginning on November 18th in the US, following up on news from Microsoft that 700,000 Xbox 360s were purchased over the weekend alone. Sales for the six-year-old PlayStation 3 were 15 percent better than they were for the console during the same period last year, according to Sony. Sales numbers were undoubtedly aided by bundles like the $199 Infamous and Uncharted pack, which may have attracted those who have yet to purchase the console and others with older, malfunctioning systems to upgrade. While Microsoft's console beat out Sony's for Black Friday, earlier this month both were neck-and-neck worldwide.

Bundles also bumped up PS Vita sales: the electronics maker reported 160,000 of the portables were sold during the week, spurred on by Amazon's $179.99 special on the Assassin's Creed III Liberation bundle. The news comes after months of disappointing sales in Japan and elsewhere.

With Sony's numbers now in, it's clear that both last-generation consoles beat out Nintendo's brand new Wii U, which sold over 400,000 units during its first week, which began on November 18th. 300,000 original Wii's, meanwhile, were purchased over the same period. It's worth noting that a direct comparison between the Wii U and its last-generation competition from Microsoft and PlayStation isn't quite possible, as the two older consoles have years of games and accessories, as well as new low prices to attract customers.