Sales of Sony's PS3 video games console surged 300 per cent after the company released a cheaper model in Japan last week, according to leaked survey data.
Sony Japan introduced the new PS3 model with a 40GB hard disk drive on November 11. One day later, local PS3 weekly sales figures had soared from an average of 16,000 to almost 66,000.
The figures are contained in preliminary data from the latest edition of a regular survey by Japan-based video games publisher and market survey firm, Enterbrain.
The substantial surge in weekly sales comes despite the release of the console occurring on the last day of the week. It is unclear what proportion of the sales resulted from pre-orders.
PS3 takes top spot
The huge increase in sales enabled the PS3 to take the top spot in full-sized console sales from Nintendo's Wii console for the first time. The Wii typically sells less than 35,000 per week in Japan, although sales have risen to 37,500 following the release of the popular game, Super Mario Galaxy.
The 40GB unit retails for $100 less than older models. The new console also lacks some features, including a flash memory device reader, two of the original four USB ports, and backwards compatibility with PS2 games. The Japanese version of the 40GB PS3 features a new 'Ceramic White' case color
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