mrpayroll

http://money.excite.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_...&date=20030909

Tuesday September 9, 10:57 AM EDT

LONDON, Sept 9 (Reuters) - Sony Corp. (6758) on Tuesday announced global cumulative shipments for its PlayStation 2 video game console topped 60 million this month, reaffirming its place as one of the most successful consumer brands ever.

Sony also gave a rare insight into its manufacturing capabilities, saying it would increase production of the console to more than 3 million units per month through year-end 2003 to meet anticipated strong Christmas demand.

"We're looking to sell a significant number this Christmas," a London-based spokesman for the video game division, Sony Computer Entertainment, told Reuters on Tuesday.

The continued strong sales momentum of the three-year-old console all but buries the on-again-off-again speculation that the No. 1 videogame maker will institute a second price cut this year to stoke sales, observers said.

In many markets, Sony has expanded its lead on rivals Nintendo's (7974) GameCube and Microsoft's (MSFT) Xbox as the console has established its place as the brand of choice among gamers.

Last month, Sony's European video games chief told Reuters the group expected to reach an installed base of 22 million PlayStation 2 consoles in Europe, the Middle East, Africa and Australia by the end of its fiscal year in March, 2004.

As of Sept. 6, Sony said it shipped 14.17 million PlayStation 2 units to Japan since its March, 2000 launch; 26.4 million units to North America since its October, 2000 debut and 19.4 million units to Europe, Middle East, Africa and Australia since its November, 2000 launch.

PlayStation 2 has out-shipped its best-selling older sibling, PlayStation, at this point in its life cycle by a margin of 60 million units to roughly 37.5 million units, the company said.



Chris

young

i wonder what xbox/gamecube sales numbers are?

still, is it just me or does it seem like all 3 are sort of at the end of their lifecycles?

Trigger

I wonder what they've got coming out this christmas that's so hot they need to step up production. I wonder also how many they've actually sold - last number we all heard (i think) was about 40 million. Sony in general is a company in financial trouble - their games division is basically carrying that company. Anyway - 60 million is a lot of shipped units. That makes me say "whoa".

PixyJunket

Sony is in financial trouble? I thought they were the biggest name in home electronics everything..?

Trigger

I wonder that too... if I had to guess, I'd say Xbox is up around 15M and GC is up around 11-12M (although the gap could be even closer than that).

I'd say it's just you - Playstation 1 kept selling fairly well even after the PS2 was released. I think the PS2 still has legs... Xbox is gonna probably be pretty steady for the next few years with sales spikes here and there (like when Splinter Cell and KOTOR came out and when Halo 2 comes out), but it won't ever ever catch up to PS2 - not even half as many sales... Gamecube - I don't wanna say, cuz they may have something up their sleeve that'll juice up sales, but didn't they recently lower production and sales expectations (again)?

Trigger

can't tell if this is a sony bash or a legit question - but yeah, sony's electronics division bleeds money... hasn't made a dime in a long time. Their movie company sometimes makes money. Their music division is in big trouble. Basically, their games division is the only part of that company that makes a profit at all. Samsung on the other hand is doing really well.

young

here's another article on the console industry.
http://news.com.com/2100-1043_3-5071063.html?tag=cd_mh

-yeah, trigger, i thought it was just me too...

Decker

The huge sales numbers of the PS2 never cease to amaze me. I enjoy my PS2, but clearly it's the least powerful of the three new systems. The one year head-start certainly helped sales, but that can't explain all the difference. It seems like every decision they made, from DVD playback to online plan to pricing has panned out for them. You don't want to chalk up all their success to luck, but it's tough to explain easily.

kvrdave

They are hurting a little. Their good stuff makes up for their Beta Max decisions, usually, but they have been losing money recently in a number of areas. If it were for the success of Spiderman in the theaters, they would have had a net loss for the entire company from what I read.

mvc

Don't forget that Sony was pretty aggressive about claiming exclusive titles. Acquring licenses such as Final Fantasy, GTA, and many other titles which had a period of exclusivity on the PS2 helped the PS2 gain fanbases. Of course this is just one factor, but Sony played their cards right, and dominated the market.

PixyJunket

No it was a legit question! I like Sony, just not Playstation. I have a Sony Wega TV, and a slick Sony digi-cam (and a Sony VCR that's essentially useless now). I'm just surprised since I always assumed they were some HUGE name they were growing money.

PixyJunket

Also take into consideration aggressive MTV-stlye marketing. They successfully pushed video games from being a "nerdy" passtime to an everyman passtime. The near-monopolistic dominance Sony had last generation (due to the failure of the Saturn and the not-quite-a-failure-but-close N64) is what pushed them WAAAY ahead this time. It's been said before, they played thier cards right and at the right time.

Superboy

They were also given an advantage by the moronic decisions of Sega and Nintendo.

PixyJunket

Yes.. I did mention that. (due to the failure of the Saturn and the not-quite-a-failure-but-close N64).

The Franchise

Wow, nobody mentioned "PS2's break in a week so people have to buy more than one!"

This story clarifies the sales breakdown. The penetration speed (heh heh) is way faster for PS2 than PSone.

sniper308

That was to be expected since the PSone made them a household name and they continued with improvements on those things that made them the market share leader. Backwards compatibility probably had an impact too.

Trigger

Well, you got it backwards - their electronics are crappy and the PS2 is about the only thing they do right.

The Franchise

Plus Sony did a great job marketing the Playstation brand. You see it everywhere from sailing events to rally cars to Le Mans etc. It's almost become a household name like Kleenex. People will say "Let's play Playstation" rather than "Let's play videogames". Anyway, I think their marketing had a great impact (although I never really understood the "U R Not Red-e" scheme)

jw2299

"I'm going to take back some of the things I've said about you. You.....you've earned it."

PixyJunket

Thank you Bill Murray.

nickdawgy

I have a Sony VCR too, woot

and a Sony Cd burner....lol

PixyJunket

Heh, I just noticed the 21" inch monitor I have at work is a Sony.. I hate going home to my little 17 inch guy.