Chart-Track: MGS4 had "minimal" impact on UK PS3 sales

Despite going straight in at number one in the software charts and being the biggest PlayStation 3-exclusive release so far, Metal Gear Solid 4 has failed to prove a major driver of hardware in the UK, with Chart-Track revealing a "minimal" spike of seven percent over its opening weekend.

The UK sales monitor revealed last night that Konami's hugely anticipated blockbuster, which released worldwide last Thursday (June 12), has become the second fastest-selling PS3 title in the UK after Grand Theft Auto IV, and 14,000 short of the opening weekend figure recorded by Metal Gear Solid 2 on PS2 in 2002.

Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz, Chart-Track director Dorian Bloch played down the game's impact on hardware, revealing: "There's not a lot to say about it – it had minimal impact really. Units were up by seven percent."

But it was a different story for Nintendo, which launched three new flavours of DS - red, turqoise and green - across Europe last Friday (June 13).

"The new colours had a massive impact – sales were up hugely," said Bloch, who also broke down the performance of each model, adding: "Black is still the king, followed by red, pink, white, turqoise, green and silver." Black accounted for "more than a third" of DS sales. Chart-Track does not publish specific hardware sales figures.

In addition to the new colours, Nintendo also launched a new DS bundle featuring Brain Training, specifically targetting Father's Day gift buyers.

"Father's Day had quite a big impact on DS because there was a specific Father's Day pack available - which Nintendo also did for Mother's Day - which was quite important," Bloch noted. "DS is still going some, basically."

The UK sales monitor further revealed that Brain Training has spent a massive 74 weeks in the all formats top 10 – just five weeks short of current record holder, the original Tomb Raider.

http://www.gamesindustry.biz/articles/chart-track-mgs4-had-minimal-impact-on-uk-ps3-sales