PlayStation hardware hit by sales decline
PS3, PSP and PS2 hardware down in third quarter, only PS3 software sales up over Christmas period
Sony has revealed that unit sales of all three PlayStation hardware brands were down in the third quarter ended December 31, 2008, with the company's game division recording sales and operating revenue of JPY 393.8 billion (USD 4,328 million), down 32.2 per cent when compared to the previous year.
Compared to the same quarter for 2007, PlayStation 3 sales were 4.46 million, a decrease of 44,000 units, while PSP sales were 5.08 million units, down 68,000 units.
Sales of the stalwart PlayStation 2 were also in decline, down 2.88 million units to 2.52 million.
The company blamed a 97 per cent decrease in operating income of JPY 0.4 billion (USD 4 million) on the appreciation of the yen against the euro, as well as the decline in hardware and software sales.
A rise in PlayStation 3 software sales was impacted by the decline in game sales for the PlayStation Portable and the PlayStation 2.
During the quarter, Sony sold 40.8 million PS3 games, up 14.8 million units compared to the previous year.
However, PSP game sales dropped by 2.8 million units, to 15.5 million, while PlayStation 2 software sold 29.7 million units, down by a massive 31.2 million.