Sony said sales of its PlayStation 4 game consoles crossed 1 million units just 24 hours after the device was launched in the US and Canada on Friday, although some users reported some issues with the device.
The Japanese electronics company is counting on the device to help lead a turnaround for the company.
Sony returned to a loss in its second fiscal quarter ended 30 September, even as its smartphone business did well. Its game sales increased by about 5% to ¥155.7 billion ($1.58 billion), but this was mainly because of favourable exchange rates. Unit sales of its PlayStation 2, PlayStation 3 and PlayStation Portable devices in fact decreased, ahead of the launch of the PlayStation 4. The profits of the business were affected by a cut in the price of the PlayStation Vita.
The company hopes to have strong sales as well of the PlayStation 4 in Europe and Latin America where it will be launched on 29 November, Sony said Sunday. But competition is coming from Microsoft’s launch of the Xbox One on 22 November.
Sony’s advantage is likely to be the lower price of its $399.99 gaming console (€399.99 in Europe), which is priced $100 (€100) lower than the Xbox. IDC has forecast that PlayStation 4 bundle sales will overtake Microsoft’s Xbox One sales in the upcoming holiday season mainly because of its lower price point. The game consoles are also facing competition from gaming on mobile devices and handhelds.
The US launch of PlayStation 4, however, had setbacks with some users complaining that their devices blinked blue, and did not get into the power on phase and connect to the TV.
John Ribeiro, IDG News Service
@Johnribeiro john_ribeiro@idg.com
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