Sony: PS3 Sells 1.35M Units In December US, Up 87%

PlayStation 3 console unit sales in the United States for the month of December rose 87 percent year over year in 2009, Sony said today in advance of the full December sales data from tracking firm NPD. In a statement peppered with end-of-year proclamations, the manufacturer trumpeted the console's 1.35 million sales for the month, which Sony said was the "single highest selling month for PS3 hardware and software in the U.S." The company also announced that the PlayStation brand overall, including hardware and games for PlayStation systems, generated $5.1 billion in revenue overall, comprising 26 percent of total industry revenue. That figure actually represents a year-on-year decline, however. In 2007, PlayStation brand revenue was $6.2 billion, representing 35 percent of industry revenue, and in 2008 revenue rose slightly to $6.4 billion as market share declined to 30 percent. Sony said PlayStation Network revenue saw its single highest month of revenue as well in December, with a 155 percent year-over-year increase in North America. For the month, PSN's most downloaded paid game was Square's Final Fantasy VIII, followed by Q Games' PixelJunk Shooter. The full-year download ranking of paid content is as follows: 1. Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 1 (Treyarch, Activision) 2. Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 2 (Treyarch, Activision) 3. Call of Duty: World at War Map Pack 3 (Treyarch, Activision) 4. FIFA 09 Gold Pack (EA Canada) 5. Final Fantasy VII (Square) 6. Battlefield 1943 (EA DICE) 7. Fat Princess (Titan Studios, SCEA) 8. Marvel Vs. Capcom 2 (Capcom) 9. Flower (Thatgamecompany, SCEA) 10. Mortal Kombat II (Midway Games)