Sony’s gaming subsidiary says it has sold 7 million PlayStation 4 (PS4) consoles worldwide since its launch last year and claimed that it cannot make them fast enough, in a welcome change of fortune for the Japanese consumer electronics giant.
“The response from the global gaming community for PS4 has been overwhelming and we are truly humbled that gamers are selecting [the] PS4 as their next-generation console of choice,” Andrew House, president and group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc, said in a statement.
“The PS4 journey has just begun, and although we are still facing difficulties keeping up with the strong demand worldwide, we remain steadfast in our commitment to meet the needs of our customers,” he said.
Photo: Bloomberg
Software sales for the console are also strong, with more than 20.5 million copies sold in retail stores worldwide and through digital downloads on the PlayStation Store as of Sunday, it said.
The PS4 is up against Microsoft’s Xbox One and Nintendo’s Wii U for dominance of the digital home entertainment market at a time that consoles are under intense pressure to prove their worth in a world of ubiquitous smartphones and tablets for games and videos.
By comparison, the Wii U, launched in late 2012, took more than a year to sell 5.86 million units.
Sony’s gaming division has emerged as a potential savior for the company, which is struggling to reinvent itself in the digital age, having been left in the dust by nimbler rivals like South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co.
Reports surfaced last month saying that Sony intends to sell properties at a prestigious Tokyo site where it had its headquarters for six decades.
Sony said in February that it would book a US$1.08 billion loss in the fiscal year ending last month, as well as cut 5,000 jobs and exit the stagnant PC market.
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