Sony Responds To NPD Hardware Results

Following the release of March's NPD hardware and software sales figures, Sony has responded with a statement pointing out that the PS3 was the only home console to see a sales percentage increase, while also claiming the format is supply constrained. The statement quotes NPD data as showing "a 24 percent increase in retail dollars generated year-over-year for the PlayStation brand in North America with total sales of $447 million, due in part to the addition of the PS3 platform as well as the strong launch performance of God of War II for PS2 at retail." Despite the PlayStation 3 being outperformed not only by the Xbox 360 and Wii, but also the Nintendo DS, PlayStation 2, PSP and even Game Boy Advance, the statement goes on to assert that, “PS3 saw a month-over-month increase of 2 percent with sales of 129,638 units, we continued to find ourselves supply constrained in March due primarily to the shift in manufacturing focus to the PS3 PAL version to support the launch of the system in Europe.” This last comment has already been received with some skepticism by industry observers, with anecdotal evidence suggesting that the PlayStation 3 has been easily available since launch in North America and the rest of the world. The statement continues by pointing out that the “PSP also witnessed gains in March, up 2 percent over February with sales of 179,796 units. The price of the PSP Core system was dropped from $199 to $169 in early April, which has received very positive retailer and consumer response.” Finally, the statement ends with: “PS2 continued to be a strong performer in March, with unit sales of 279,866. On the software front, we were pleased to see sales increases from February for both the PSP and PS2. PS2 software showed a 29 percent increase with the launch of God of War II and PSP software demonstrated a 13 percent jump."