Sales of the Sony PlayStation and its software last Christmas broke all records, enabling Sony Computer Entertainment Europe (SCEE) to record the highest ever sell-through for both hardware and software in its history.
SCEE sold over 3.4 million PlayStation2 units and over 800,000 PS one consoles in the last two months of 2002. Throughout the SCEE PAL Territories (Europe, Middle East, Africa and Australasia) PlayStation2 sales accelerated markedly, with a massive 2.4 million units sold during the month of December, making it the best season ever for PlayStation.
And last week the company announced that cumulative world-wide factory shipments of the PlayStation2 had reached 50 million units.
Commenting on the record-breaking Christmas selling period, Chris Deering, president of SCEE, cited contemporary new technology and new concept games on the PlayStation2 as the driving force behind the season's outstanding success.
"PlayStation2 software took a major step change in both graphic quality and innovation in 2002. Game developers are increasingly harnessing the power of the PlayStation2 to create games that set new standards in graphic excellence.
"With the launch of PlayStation2 on-line gaming in the Spring and innovative new game concepts such as EyeToy set to attract a whole new audience to gaming, 2003 promises to be another exciting and rewarding year for the PlayStation2 gamer".
Commenting on the local sales effort, Etienne Borg Cardona, director, Computer Entertainment Division, of the Forestals Group of Companies, said: "Well before Christmas we were geared up for record demand for PlayStation2 hardware and software.
"We benefited from the combination of a hardware price drop by Sony Computer Entertainment in anticipation of the Christmas season, as well as the best ever line-up of new triple A releases in the history of PlayStation.
"The choice of top quality games this year was unprecedented with bestsellers such as FIFA 2003, The Getaway, GTA Vice City, as well as movie-driven game releases such as Harry Potter and the Chamber of Secrets, Lord of the Rings Two Towers, James Bond Nightfire and Disney's Kingdom Hearts.
"We are now looking forward to the release of the PS2 hard disc drive in spring this year, which will open up new interactive possibilities for online multiplayer gaming, an exciting new phase in the PlayStation story."
The breakdown of shipments by region, as at last Wednesday, is: 16.02 million units to the SCEE area; 21.48 million units to North America and 12.53 million units to Japan.
Such is the global success of the PlayStation2 that it has taken under four months for lifetime shipments to increase from the 40 million units, reached on September 17, 2002, to the 50 million units announced last week.
The PlayStation2 also continues to be the format of choice for discerning software developers and publishers. In addition to the 9,000 PlayStation2 Software Development Kits (SDK) provided to third party software developers and publishers since launch, more than 1,400 Development Kits were shipped to developers in 2002, demonstrating strong and continued confidence in the platform.
With over 1,500 software titles available for the PlayStation2 worldwide, the continuous flow of ever more exciting and entertaining new titles for PlayStation2 is guaranteed for the foreseeable future.
SCEE is one of the leading publishers of games software for PlayStation, with a wide range of top quality, exclusive titles for every games genre. Delivering on its promise to publish top quality, blockbuster games throughout the year, SCEE's forthcoming line-up of games includes Primal, SOCOM: US Navy Seals, Mark of Kri, Hardware Online Arena, Sly Racoon, World of Monsters and Ape Escape 2. Full details of all forthcoming releases for PlayStation are available at www.playstation.com.