After reading through the latest statistics update provided by Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., we just had to say it, "well damn, we really have come a very long way."
The press release included the announcement that the PlayStation Network has now exceeded 20 million registered accounts, and the chronology of sign-ups looks like this: 5 million in 1 year, 2 months, 10 million in 1 year, 8 months, and 20 million in only 2 years, 3 months (some thanks due to PlayStation Home, we imagine). It further mentions that the combined sell-in number for the PlayStation 3 and PSP is now over 70 million (50 million for the PSP and a little over 20 million for the PS3), and here's a nice little quote to go along with the numbers:
"Directly accessible from PS3, PSP or PC, users are able to enjoy a broad range of on-line content and services, including on-line gaming, video chat and text messaging with other PS3 users on-line, as well as many games and video content downloadable from PlayStationStore. Since its launch, PlayStation Network has expanded its services to over 55 countries and regions around the globe, gaining strong support from users for its breadth of entertainment content available for both PS3 and PSP systems in addition to its free to use basic features and services."
As of right now, "more than 600 titles incorporated with online features have been released for the PS3 system worldwide," and the PlayStation Store features "more than 14,500 diverse digital content." In all, over 380 million pieces of content have been downloaded, with total sales topping $180 million, "and the business scale is rapidly expanding." As for the aforementioned Home, it took less than two months for the number of users to reach 4 million, and PlayStation Life sees an additional 2.6 million users. You should all be well aware of the previous two services so we won't go into further detail, but it appears that yes, Sony is indeed on the right track.
We could mention the stellar list of exclusives set for the PS3, but…we won't. We've done it enough. 😉
