600,000 PS3s were sold across PAL territories, putting a staggering €400 million through retail in a spectacular opening weekend.

The news comes on the back of ChartTrack confirming that in the UK, the next generation Sony machine has notched up 165,000 sales, making it the fastest-selling home console in history.

As expected, the UK was the number one PAL territory – but SCEE president David Reeves hailed the performance of PS3 in other markets, too.

“France did very well,” he told MCV. “Sales were around half of the UK, with Spain and Portugal slightly behind that. Germany, too, saw strong sales of around the 50-60,000 mark."

“We saw around Euro 400 million sales going through retail across PAL territories in two days; that’s certainly a big figure, which we’re very proud of.”

Sony also confirmed to MCV that around 150,000 consumers had registered with the PS3 Network during the two days.

- Read this week’s MCV for a full analysis of the PS3 launch.