CES ’10: PS3 Shifts 3.8m Units, Sony Network Entertainment Formed

By Mufaddal Fakhruddin on January 8, 2010

Sony also announced larger capacity Blu-ray discs at CES 2010.

Tags: Playstation 3, Sony, Sony Computer Entertainment America, Sony Network Entertainment

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First Impressions

My reaction is

Sony opened up their hyperboles and statistics book yesterday at the CES 2010 keynote that was held yesterday. According to Sony’s counting, the Playstation 3 has had a fantastic holiday last year, shifting as many as 3.8 million units in the five weeks following the last week of November 2009. That is a whopping 76% increase in hardware sales, making it the highest sales recorded for the PS3 in a holiday period.

Sony also marks that the Playstation Network, with the help of an “exciting” line-up of software titles and expansion of new content, has registered 38 million users worldwide (as of January 3, 2010). Sony now hopes to further the momentum and increase the growth of its install base worldwide in 2010

Sony President Kazuo Hirai also announced the Sony Network Entertainment, an intiative formed to help expanding the PSN service to Sony’s other line of products like the Bravia TVs, Blu-ray players and VAIO personal computers.

The major announcement of the keynote, however, was the increase in capacity of Blu-ray discs. Sony announced that Blu-ray discs can now hold upto 33.4GB (from 25GB) and will be introduced soon. This won’t mean that existing PS3 players will have to buy a whole new SKU to play the larger capacity discs. It was confirmed that the new Blu-rays will work on all existing Blu-ray players through a firmware upgrade.

Sony opened up their hyperboles and statistics book yesterday at the CES 2010 keynote. According to Sony’s counting, the Playstation 3 has had a fantastic holiday last year, shifting as many as 3.8 million units in the five weeks following the last week of November 2009. That is a whopping 76% increase in hardware sales, making it the highest sales recorded for the PS3 in a holiday period.

Sony President Kazuo Hirai also announced the Sony Network Entertainment, an intiative formed to help expand the PSN service to Sony’s other line of products like the Bravia TVs, Blu-ray players and VAIO personal computers.

The major announcement of the keynote, however, was the increase in capacity of Blu-ray discs. Sony announced that Blu-ray discs can now hold upto 33.4GB (from 25GB) and will be introduced soon. Oh, don’t worry, existing users won’t have to upgrade to a whole new SKU for that (ala Microsoft, ahem). All Blu-ray players will be able to spin the new discs with just a small little firmware upgrade. No specifics on how soon these new discs will be utilized by film makers and game developers was mentioned.

Press release:
Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) today announced that the holiday season retail sales of PlayStation®3 (PS3®) computer entertainment systems during the five weeks following the last week of November 2009*1 exceeded 3.8 million units worldwide*2. The PS3 platform experienced a 76% increase in hardware sales compared to the same period in the previous year, marking the highest record sales for PS3 hardware for a holiday period. With the release of the new slimmer and lighter PS3 system combined with an exciting line-up of compelling software titles, as well as with the expansion of new content and services on PlayStation®Network, with more than 38 million registered accounts*3 worldwide, the PS3 platform continues to surpass its momentum every year and remains on track to further accelerate the growth of its worldwide installed base into 2010.
With continued strong support from game developers and publishers around the world, highly anticipated and exciting game titles on Blu-ray™ disc were released for the PS3 system during the holiday season. The software line-up includes platform-defining franchises that contributed significantly to PS3 hardware sales such as UNCHARTED 2: Among Thieves from SCE, Ubisoft’s Assassin’s Creed® II, Infinity Ward’s Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 from Activision, and FINAL FANTASY XIII from SQUARE ENIX CO., LTD. FINAL FANTASY XIII for North America and Europe/PAL territories will be available on March 9, 2010. In addition to this extensive line-up of software titles, multimedia capabilities that PS3 offers, including Blu-ray disc player functionality, combined with various rich content and services available for download on PlayStation®Network, continue to attract more and more users around the globe making PS3 the ultimate interactive entertainment system for the home.

In 2010, SCEI will continue to deploy various measures to further expand the PS3 software line-up, including highly anticipated titles such as God of War 3, Gran Turismo™ 5, MAG, Heavy Rain and ModNation Racers. The company will also vigorously enhance the network content and services, while tapping into a wider audience through the introduction of a new Motion Controller*4 supported with a variety of software titles as well as delivering outstanding 3D experience in homes with 3D stereoscopic games and movies*5, that is possible only on the PS3 platform.

*1 From November 23 to December 27 for Japan and Asia, from November 24 to December 28 for North America, and from November 21 to December 25 for Europe and PAL territories.
*2 Retail sales number is estimated by SCEI.
*3 Number as of January 3, 2010.
*4 “Motion Controller” is a tentative name.*5 Users will be able to enjoy 3D stereoscopic games and movies by updating their PS3 system with the supported firmware updates. Details of the firmware updates will be announced when they become available.