Everyone was excited to see the PlayStation 3 slim down - in terms of both the size and price tag - and early sales numbers were encouraging. But how did the PS3 Slim fare in its first week?

We still don't have the official NPD numbers for the machine, but according to preliminary statistics compiled by VGChartz, the PS3 Slim sold "around 500,000" units worldwide in its first week of availability; in the US, we apparently saw a 400% increase in week-over-week sales. They say Europe saw as much as a tenfold increase and an additional 200,000 units were sold in "other regions" (Europe, Asia, Africa, Australia, etc.). Japan saw a big rise as well, as the PS3 Slim came in at 150,000 for the first week, which would be a 200% overall week-over-week increase. And of course, if the hardware sales spike, the software sales also enjoy a surge: many PS3 multipltform titles easily outsold their Xbox 360 counterparts during the week in question, and that supposedly includes the recently released Batman: Arkham Asylum. We should probably point out, however, that the PS3 version of this particular title offered a special bonus (ability to play as The Joker), so that may have played a part as well. But even so, this is all a good sign, and should indicate high sales for the holiday season ahead.

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