Menu Close

Sony Tops Global Sales Chart For The First Time Since 2006

Ben-Dutka 5 Comments

For the first time in eight years, Sony is back on top in the global tally.

According to PushSquare , in the previous financial year, Sony sold more hardware than its competitors (Nintendo or Microsoft).

Sony often outsold Microsoft but they had never topped Nintendo in the worldwide race since 2006. However, in the previous year, Sony moved 18.7 million PS4, PS3, Vita and PSP units, while Nintendo came in second with 16.3 million Wii U, Wii, DS, 2DS, and 3DS systems. Microsoft was a distant third with 11.6 million Xbox consoles but of course, they don't have a handheld to boost their numbers.

Then again, Sony doesn't really, either. The PSP is being discontinued this year and the Vita is barely contributing, so it'll be interesting to see what happens in the future (especially with the Wii U outselling the PS4 in Japan right now). At any rate, it's nice to See Sony back on top for a little while.

Read more →

Sony Finally Posts A Profit, No Thanks To Gaming Division

Ben-Dutka 6 Comments

For the first time in five years, Sony managed to post a full-year profit. But it had nothing to do with video games.

For the year ending March 31, Sony posted a profit of 43 billion yen ($435.6 million), which is a good deal better than the 456 billion yen ($4.6 billion) loss the company suffered last year. Revenue was also up to 6.8 trillion yen ($72.3 billion), which marks a significant 4.7% rise.

However, the gaming division fell 12.2% year-over-year to 707.1 billion yen ($7.2 billion), due primarily to a decrease in PS3, PSP and Vita hardware and software sales. PlayStation operating income fell 27.6 billion yen to 1.7 billion yen ($17.2 million), also due to lower platform sales. Sales of PS3 and PS2 units came in at 16.5 million, down from 18 million the previous year, and software sales hit 153.9 million, down from 164.5 million. As for the portable market, Sony sold 7 million PSP and Vita units, which is up from the 6.8 million year-over-year, but software sales fell from 32.2 million to 28.8 million.

Sony's future projections include 10 million PS3 units in the coming year, but no projections for either the PS2 or the upcoming PS4. Expected PSP and Vita sales are expected to come in at 5 million. Sadly, it's pretty tough to sell a Vita these days.

Read more →

PlayStation Celebrates 15th Birthday

Ben-Dutka 44 Comments

I remember a friend of mine importing the PlayStation in 1995 before it released in the US. I also remember thinking it was a huge waste of time and money, because nobody would ever top Nintendo and Sega.

Yes, well, one of the many times I've been very, very wrong. Today, Sony Computer Entertainment (SCEA) celebrates 15 years of PlayStation in North America; since that time, gamers around the world have "helped the company to revolutionize the video game industry, moving the industry from traditional cartridge-based gaming to disc-based solutions, introducing gamers to in-depth, high-resolution and real time 3D computer graphics, and in later years to technical innovations like Blu-Ray and stereoscopic 3D entertainment for the home." So of course, there's a lot to celebrate. Said SCEA CEO Jack Tretton:

"When you look in the rearview mirror at what was happening in 1995 you see that the video game industry was an entirely different animal. Cartridges were still the preferred medium, and the market was a modest $2.6 billion in sales revenue annually. Many critics thought that a disc-based console with a lot of horse power would shoot over the heads of consumers, but our users proved them wrong. Now, we are seeing a convergence of video games and home entertainment, and a market that is a robust $20 billion in revenue. In the next 15 years and beyond PlayStation will continue to bring new and more immersive experiences, like stereoscopic 3D, augmented reality as well as genre-defying gameplay into consumer living rooms."

The press release goes on to mention classic franchises such as Gran Turismo , along with "building new genres" with the likes of LittleBigPlanet and Heavy Rain . If you've appreciated what Sony has done over the past decade and a half, or you simply want to reap the benefits, check out the following ways the company plans to celebrate:

— Free downloadable PS3 & PSP static themes available for download on the PlayStation®Store starting today.

— Weekly discounts on select PS One® titles within the PlayStation®15th anniversary collection page, available in all SCEA territories on PS3, PSP & Media Go Storefronts. In addition to a 50 percent sale on Super Rub A Dub (Super Rub A Dub offer good from Thursday, September 9, 2010 – through Monday, September 20, 2010).

— A PlayStation®Home commemorative Original PlayStation® (PS One®) ornament for personal spaces available starting today.

So for the next few months, feel free to take advantage. PlayStation has sold over 377 million hardware consoles since 1995 and more than 2 billion software units globally; here in the US alone, Sony has managed to generate over $63 billion in revenue…which equates to 40% of the overall video game market share in this country to date.

Read more →