Euro PS3 sales will hit 4m by next year - analyst

Sony is set to sell 4 million PlayStation 3 units to European consumers by the end of 2007, according to Screen Digest.

Speaking to The Times Online, analyst Nick Parker dismissed suggestions that plentiful stocks of the console could be seen to indicate poor sales performance.

"The lack of shortage is supply driven; what Sony has shipped will sell," he said.

"We estimate that Sony will sell around 4 million units in Europe this year, with 1 to 1.5 million in the UK."

This would mean, according to Parker, that PS3 could overtake Wii in the sales stakes next year - if not by the end of 2007.

The analyst also said that with the European PS3 launch just days away, sales of Xbox 360 are just 1 per cent higher than this time last year - suggesting that demand for Microsoft's console has peaked.

PlayStation 3 will go on sale in Europe this Friday, with 1 million units promised for launch. The 60GB model will retail for GBP 425 / EUR 599, but according to The Times, retailers are predicting a pre-Christmas price cut.