PS Home "quite profitable" - Buser

PlayStation Home is proving itself as a viable revenue stream, with virtual items sold in Sony's online environment now making the platform "quite profitable," according to director Jack Buser.

While some quarters of the industry remained aloof when the platform was first launched, Buser believes the numbers now speak for themselves.

"Home is new," he told Gamasutra. "We're doing a lot of really new stuff that I think the industry is still wrapping its head around - we're seeing a lot of innovation in the space, and some of us have hit success.

"And I think it takes some time as the industry as a whole, whether that be consumers or whether that be the media, to start to shift their focus to these new types of platforms and see how people are actually spending their time with the console and with gaming in general. I think we are part of that evolution, part of that conversation.

"With numbers like we have, it goes without saying that Home has been a huge success for our company, something that we have been very proud of."

Specifically, he revealed that over 5000 virtual items have been released into Home, which he maintains become profitable as they reach maturity.

"You see us creating a tremendous amount of virtual items, because it is such a high margin business for us to be in," he explained.

"In fact, I would say that it is a very good business model for PlayStation, and quite profitable, I might add - I like to say it's one of the highest-margin businesses in the games industry."