HITWISE UK RETAIL UPDATE

PlayStation 3 Most Searched-for Console in Advance of Friday's UK Launch. Search Volume Remains Low Relative to Past Console Launches as Consumers Price Compare.

London, 21^st March 2007 - With the UK release of the latest gaming console launching Friday, UK consumers have turned to the Internet in search of deals on the PlayStation 3. Last week, the PlayStation 3 became the most searched-for gaming console, overtaking the Nintendo Wii. However, Hitwise data reveals that online enthusiasm for the PlayStation 3 is muted in comparison with other recent console launches.

The share of UK Internet searches for "playstation 3" increased 14% in the past four weeks and searches for "playstation 3" overtook the next most searched-for console, "nintendo wii" in the week ending 10^th February 2007. The Xbox 360 was the 3^rd most searched-for console, ahead of the PlayStation Portable ("psp") and the Nintendo DS.

Analysis of terms used to search for the console reveal that consumers are on the hunt for cheap consoles and are even comparing prices to overseas markets. The console has come under fire because of its £425 price tag - around £120 more than its US retail price - with Sony reportedly hinting that it may reduce prices by year-end.

Among search terms that include the keywords "playstation 3", "cheap playstation 3" was the #4 query based on volume of searches last week. Among searches that include the keyword "ps3", "free ps3" and "cheap ps3" ranked at #4 and #11 respectively. UK consumers looked to compare prices with other markets, with the queries "ps3 price in dubai" and "60g ps3 price in north America" ranking #2 and #4 respectively among search terms that included the keywords "psp price" in the past four weeks.

Online Enthusiasm Muted Compared with Past Console Launches

Hitwise Search Intelligenceâ„¢ data reveals that competition has been heating up since Sony unveiled the PlayStation 3 back in May 2005. The share of UK Internet searches for the PlayStation 3 was 49% higher nearly two years ago, the week the console was unveiled, compared with last week.

By contrast, searches for the Xbox 360 and the Nintendo Wii in the week before their UK launch eclipsed those for the PlayStation 3 last week. The share of UK Internet searches for "nintendo wii" were 40% higher the week before its UK release (week ending 2^nd December 2006) and the share of UK Internet searches for "xbox 360" were 119% higher the week before its release (week ending 26^th November 2005).

"The Nintendo Wii and Xbox 360 benefited from well timed and much hyped launches in the lead up to the busy Christmas shopping season", commented Heather Hopkins, VP of Research for Hitwise UK. "Stock shortages and aggressive pricing strategies made the Wii and the Xbox 360 must-have Christmas gifts. The PlayStation 3, suffering a delayed launch due to a manufacturing fault, has been launched in a down-time for games consoles and is therefore missing a critical seasonal boost."

Competition is heating up in the Search Engine Results

The official PlayStation-Europe website (eu.playstation.com) was the top recipient of visits from searches for "playstation 3"  last week, with 36% of UK Internet searches for the console sending visits to eu.playstation.com. This is Living (www.thisisliving.tv), which hosts an advertising trailer for the new console, is aggressively growing its traffic through paid search marketing. Searches for the console accounted for nearly all of the site's  traffic, and 90% of site visits from searches for "playstation 3" came from paid listings.

Retailers are also competing fiercely to receive visits from searches for the console, with Play.com, Amazon UK, GAME and HMV.co.uk among the top 10 websites receiving visits from searches for "playstation 3". All of these retailers are prominent in the paid listings and most traffic to the sites from searches for the console came from clicks on paid listings. In the past four weeks, 87% of visits from searches for "playstation 3" to GAME were from paid listings, 71% for Amazon UK, 67% for HMV.co.uk and 70% for Play.com.

Hitwise is the leading online competitive intelligence service. Only Hitwise provides its 1,200 global clients with daily insights on how their customers interact with a broad range of competitive websites, and how their competitors use different tactics to attract online customers.

Since 1997, Hitwise has pioneered a unique, network-based approach to Internet measurement. Through relationships with ISPs around the world, Hitwise's patented methodology anonymously captures the online usage, search, and conversion behaviour of 25 million Internet users. This unprecedented volume of Internet usage data is seamlessly integrated into our easy to use, web-based service, designed to help marketers better plan, implement, and report on a range of online marketing programs.

Hitwise is a privately held company headquartered in New York City and operates in the United States, United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, and Singapore. More information about Hitwise is available at www.hitwise.com.

For up to date analysis of online trends, please visit the Hitwise Intelligence Analyst Weblogs at weblogs.hitwise.com.

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