Sony: June NPD Shows ‘Impressive Growth’ For All PlayStation Platforms

Responding to the NPD’s revealed June U.S. hardware and software sales figures, Sony has released a statement highlighting the success of Metal Gear Solid 4, this month’s top-selling title with 770k+ units sold, and PS3’s 311% year-over-year sales growth, claiming the PlayStation brand is “hitting its stride” across all three platforms. Responding to the NPD’s revealed June U.S. hardware and software sales figures, Sony has released a statement highlighting the success of Metal Gear Solid 4, this month’s top-selling title across all platforms, and the PlayStation 3 hardware’s 311% year-over-year sales growth Konami’s Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriot, a PlayStation 3-exclusive title, sold 774,647 units in the month of June 2008, not including units sold as part of the company’s Metal Gear Solid 4 PS3 bundle. In total, 2.4 software units for the PS3 were sold in June. Sony claims that the MGS4’s release leads a “blockbuster software line-up” for the latter half of the year, which will drive system sales into the holiday season. On the hardware end, the PlayStation 3 sold 405,488 units in June, a 311% increase compared to the same period in 2007 and a 94% growth over the previous month. Though sales still trailed behind the Nintendo DS and Wii, which sold 783,000 and 666,700 units respectively, Sony noted that PS3 sales were 84% than Mixrosoft’s Xbox 360. Sony’s reaction to the sales figures comes only a day after Sony Computer Entertainment president and CEO Kazuo Hirai commented that he believed overall PlayStation 3 operations will turn profitable by March 2009 - the end of Sony's 2008 fiscal year. The company also claimed a “solid month” for the PlayStation 2, which sold 188,798 hardware units, an increase of 42% over May, with software totaling at 3.9 million units sold. PlayStation Portable sales saw an 85% month-over-month increase to 337,356 units, mostly driven by the launch of a God of War: Chains of Olympus system bundle. Sony went on to note that its PlayStation Network community had grown to over 10 million registered accounts worldwide with 180 million pieces of content downloaded worldwide. The entire PlayStation Brand, including hardware and software for all platforms, generated $626.7 million in June, representing a year-over-year growth of 90%. Total software sales were at $298 million, a 52% increase compared to the same period in 2007. Said SCEA president and CEO Jack Tretton: "The PlayStation brand is truly hitting its stride on its long-term opportunity across all three platforms. Our strong June numbers serve as proof to the continued momentum of the PS3 and affirms that we’re exactly where we expected to be.” He continued: “This month’s success can be attributed to the exclusive blockbuster Metal Gear Solid 4: Guns of the Patriots and we’re poised for continued growth into the back half of the year with a much anticipated line-up, including LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM: Confrontation, Resistance 2, MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, and NBA ’09: The Inside. Additionally, the new PlayStation Network video delivery service will be a big driver for the PS3 and PSP, allowing consumers to extend their multi-media and entertainment experience.”