PSN Outage Leads to PS3 Sales Slide

According to recent reports, sales of the Sony PlayStation 3 (PS3) video game console slipped considerably following the hacking of the PlayStation Network (PSN). Sources say many retailers are finding consumers trading in their PS3s for Xbox 360s, a console built by industry rival, Microsoft.

"[With just a few] days into the month and already we have an increase of 200% in PS3s coming into the store compared to all of March," said Tom Mestdagh, a representative for Belgian video game retailer, Gameswap. "Normally we sell them really fast, but not this time." (Source: gamepro.com)

Pre-Orders Canceled, Game Sales Down

Mestdagh added that he's seen a number of customers cancel pre-orders for the PlayStation 3 version of the highly-anticipated shooter "Brink" in recent days.

It would seem this has less to do with Brink's middling reviews and is instead linked to fears over PSN security, since Mestdagh says many of those original pre-orders have simply been switched from a PS3 copy to an Xbox 360 one.

Other sources report that sales of major PS3 games, like Call of Duty: Black Ops, have seen their share of the market dip considerably since the outage. One report suggested the PS3 version of Black Ops dropped from a 37 per cent market share to just 24 per cent, while the Xbox 360 version has gone from -- per cent to 66 per cent.

PS3s Come In, Xbox 360s Go Out

Beyond just games, Mestdagh also says he's seen a spike in the number of people wanting to trade in their PlayStation 3 consoles.

"At the end of each month people come to sell their consoles," Mestdagh said. "People that need money [to pay bills]. What's different this time around is that that they are bringing in PS3s together with all their games and they don't want money, they want an Xbox 360." (Source: vgchartz.com)

Elsewhere, a major British retailer has reported that they have seen an outpouring of customer dissatisfaction with Sony, many inquiring as to whether using PSN represents a threat to their privacy.

Not long after admitting that hackers had gained access to 77 million PSN accounts, Sony assured users that it was unlikely any damage was done. "The entire credit card table was encrypted and we have no evidence that credit card data was taken," Sony said.