PSP smashes UK sales records

Sony's PSP console has become the fastest-selling games console of all time in the UK, selling an incredible 185,000 units in its first four days on sale according to official Chart-Track figures.

The total figure set by Sony is more than double managed by the Nintendo DS, which managed the record-breaking tally of 87,000 when it debuted back in March of this year.

But the Chart-Track figures are all the more remarkable on this basis that the PSP's £179.99 price tag was considered by many commentators as expensive for a handheld system. Indeed, with the Nintendo DS priced at around £99.99, there were fears that Sony's pricing strategy would put punters off buying the system until the games line-up improved.

However, such fears about the sales of software appear to be unfounded, with nine PSP titles figuring in the UK's All Formats Top 10, and 20 out of the 24 launch titles breaking into the All Formats Top 40.

The top honours went to Namco's Ridge Racer, with Sony's Wipeout Pure at No.3, Sega's Virtua Tennis at No.4, Konami's Metal Gear Acid at No.5, followed by Need For Speed Underground Rivals (No.6), Midnight Club 3 (No.7), TOCA Race Driver 2 (No.8), Tony Hawk's Underground Remix (No.9) and Spider-Man 2 (No.10).

Home-grown footy title World Tour Soccer propped up the top ten at No.11 following strong sales on day one. Elsewhere, Lumines debuted at No.12, Everybody's Golf at No.13, and Archer Maclean's Mercury at No.18.

Meanwhile, UK retailers enjoyed a bumper weekend on the back of the long-awaited launch, grossing a whopping £33.3 million in hardware sales alone. With software and accessories factored into the equation, the launch was worth well over £50 million to UK retail, helping to make up for an exceptionally poor summer, and setting up a bumper end to the year.