Sony: Satisfied With November Results

We've heard it before, but due to constant suspicion in the media, Sony has felt the need to remind us again. After the NPD Group released its numbers yesterday, Sony's Head of PR David Karraker had plenty of words for Gamasutra in a recent interview. Sony is apparently "very pleased" with the results, and claims that all the manufacturing issues that severely limited the PS3 launch "have been resolved."

While the data shows that Sony only managed to ship 197,000 units in November, far below the previously anticipated 400,000, Sony remains insistent about one thing- their vow to ship one million PS3s in 2006. According to Karraker, the company remains "focused on having one million PS3s in the pipeline by December 31, 2006."

And despite that massive PS3 shortage, Sony seemed quite satisfied with the performance of their two other systems, the PS2 and PSP. November's numbers clearly indicated strong PS2 sales with 664,000 units sold, and the PSP moved a solid 412,000. Regardless of how all the statistics are viewed by industry analysts, Karraker is obviously happy with the current situation. Furthermore, the 1 million PS3s in 2006 claim remains:

"These figures clearly demonstrate the strength of the PlayStation family of products in the US market," commented Karraker. "PlayStation 3 remains one of the most sought after items this holiday season, selling through almost immediately in all retailers once placed on store shelves. We will continue to utilize airfreight delivery for PlayStation 3 to assure a steady stream of systems for North American consumers through the end of the year. And while initial day-one launch shipment goals weren't achievable due to early manufacturing issues, those problems have been resolved and we do remain focused on having one million PS3's in the pipeline by December 31, 2006."

Karraker went on to add:

"The six-year old PlayStation 2 continues to dominate the market, outselling all other computer entertainment systems in November, including much newer systems from the competition. PS2 also topped the software category, out pacing all other system's sales by almost three times. PSP (PlayStation Portable Player) had a very good November as well, seeing a jump in sales of nearly 50% and a strong increase in software sell-through. These sales figures bode very well for SCEA as it offers a computer entertainment system for every taste and budget this holiday season."

12/9/2006 Ben Dutka

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