NPD sales prove "the power of PlayStation," claims Tretton

Sony's recent sales figures in North America are proof of the company's brand power in the territory, according to US CEO Jack Tretton.

The best-selling Sony system was the six-year old PlayStation 2, which moved 1.4 million units in December - outselling rival next-gen consoles from Microsoft and Nintendo.

"If there was ever any doubt about the power of the PlayStation brand in the US, the December NPD data should quickly quell it," said Tretton.

Although PSP sales rose by 130 per cent from the previous month, it was still out-sold by the DS, with Sony's handheld selling 953,200 compared to Nintendo's 1.6 million units.

Sony managed to sell 497,000 PlayStation 3s in December, bringing the total to 687,000 of the reported one million units it has shipped so far.

Tretton is still upbeat when it comes to PS3's performance, despite the low sales of the console compared to the figures for Wii and Xbox 360.

"Not only did consumers drive records for PlayStation 3, they also validated the excellent value represented by PlayStation 2 and the entertainment versatility of PSP. These sales figures bode very well for the company heading into 2007," he said.