Sony sees increase in PS3, Vita sales this Black Friday

Sony has finally announced their Black Friday weekend sales statistics, revealing a increase in total PlayStation 3 and PS Vita hardware sales. Sony found plenty of success with their variety of both PS3 and PS Vita bundles introduced this holiday season.

According to the company, 525,000 PlayStation 3 units were sold in the United States between November 18 and November 24. Total PS3 sales including hardware, software, and peripherals grew 9% over the same period last year. This can likely be attributed to the success of The Ultimate PlayStation Value Bundle which, according to Sony, sold out at retailers across the United States.

Additionally, 160,000 PS Vita units were sold during the same time. The two systems combined for a total sales increase of 15% compared to the same period last year. The Assassin's Creed 3: Liberation Bundle sold out on Amazon in just "mere hours", while the Black Ops: Declassified Bundle and the Lego Batman 2: DC Super Heroes Bundle also saw "high sales".

“We’re very pleased with the Black Friday sales results, especially the incredible reception for the PS3 and PS Vita bundles. The demand was very strong which quickly depleted our inventory across retailers nationwide,” said Jack Tretton, President and CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America. “The PlayStation brand generated significant revenue and year-over-year growth at retail because of our focus on what gamers love most in combining amazing hardware with great games and digital entertainment.”

Sales of PlayStation Plus subscriptions on PlayStation Network also saw an increase of 259% compared to last year’s Black Friday period. In addition, since the Instant Game Collection was introduced earlier this year, customer satisfaction rates for PS Plus are above 95%.

Now that all three major platform holders have announced their Black Friday reports let's do a little comparison. Nintendo sold a total of 1.2 million units (Wii U, Wii, 3DS, and DS all included), but only 400,000 of those were the new Wii U console. Nintendo saw tremendous success with its handhelds, selling 250,000 3DS units and 275,000 DS units. Nintendo attributed the relatively low Wii U sales to a shortage of available units at retailers.

Microsoft, meanwhile, sold a total of 750,000 Xbox 360 during the same period, exceeding internal forecasts. Additionally, three month Xbox LIVE Gold Subscription sales increased more than 50% compared to last year's Black Friday week.

Overall, I think all three platform holders — Nintendo, Microsoft, and Sony — can be happy with their sales reports. Did you happen buy any major consoles this Black Friday weekend or are you content with what you have?