PS3 Sales Have Nearly Doubled in 2008

Following the latest NPD video game sales data for July, which showed the PS3 outselling the Xbox 360 by about 20,000 units, Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) has issued its own reaction to the sales, noting that PS3 hardware was once again boosted by the Metal Gear Solid 4 bundle. With the inclusion of the July data, the PS3 has now sold 1.8 million units in the U.S. in 2008, which represents 99 percent growth over last year.

Furthermore, PS3 software sales have grown 206 percent year-to-date. And Sony said there are now more than 10 million registered PSN accounts worldwide and approximately 200 million pieces of content have been downloaded across the globe. Overall, year to date (Jan-July), the PlayStation brand has generated nearly $3.3 billion in revenue, which is an increase of more than 22 percent.

"Our year-to-date sales growth of 99% for the PS3 reaffirms that consumers are indeed embracing PS3 as their entertainment hub-of-choice with its feature-rich offerings like Blu-ray and our recently announced video delivery service. With an unmatched software line-up that includes LittleBigPlanet, SOCOM: Confrontation, Resistance 2 and MotorStorm: Pacific Rift, and the anticipated launch of our new 80GB PS3 model, we’re confident in a strong second half of the year and look forward to quickly addressing any inventory shortages due to the transition," commented Jack Tretton, SCEA’s president and CEO.