1m PS3s shipped in Japan

Sony has announced that shipments of PlayStation 3 units to Japan have reached the one million mark.

The total number of worldwide shipments of the new console is now two million units, which Sony claims beats comparative shipment totals for previous PlayStation platforms.

Software shipments for the next-generation machine had reached five million units by the end of December 2006.

Sony has promised the next-gen console will launch in Europe in two months time, with retail sources pointing towards an expected launch date of March 23.