Sony sells 1.2m PS3s during holidays
TOKYO (AP) - January 7, 2008 Competition is intense among the latest video game machines,
pitting Sony Corp. against Nintendo Co.'s popular Wii and Microsoft
Corp.'s XBox 360.
But the rivalry between the two of the latest video formats -
Blu-ray and HD DVD - appears to be tipping toward the former after
Warner Bros. Entertainment, formerly a supporter of the
Toshiba-backed HD DVD format, defected to the Blu-ray side over the
weekend.
Both formats deliver crisp, clear high-definition pictures and
sound, but they are incompatible with each other, and neither plays
on older DVD players. Only one format is expected to emerge as the
winner, much like VHS trumped Sony's Betamax in the video format
battle of the 1980s.
Blu-ray discs can hold about two-thirds more data than HD DVD
discs but the technology requires new manufacturing techniques and
factories, boosting initial costs.
HD DVDs, on the other hand, are essentially DVDs on steroids,
meaning movie studios can turn to existing assembly lines to
produce them in mass.
Attracting movie studios is critical for making the format
widespread. Now, just two major U.S. studios support HD DVD -
Viacom Inc.'s Paramount Pictures, which also owns DreamWorks SKG,
and Universal Pictures, a unit of General Electric Co.
Sony can hope to gain more sales in its core electronics
products, including Blu-ray recorders and high-definition
flat-panel TVs, if consumers choose Blu-ray. That may also aid it
in its struggle against the popularity of the Wii machine from
Nintendo, which went on sale about the same time as the PS3,
attracting newcomers to gaming with easy-to-play games that use a
wandlike remote-controller.
"The PlayStation brand ended the year in a very strong position
and clearly indicates more positive momentum going into 2008,"
said Jack Tretton, president and chief executive of Sony Computer
Entertainment America.
"The strong PS3 sales also further establish Blu-ray's dominant
position as the high-definition medium of choice for games and
movies," he said in a statement.
Sony Computer Entertainment, the Japanese electronics and
entertainment company's game unit, said Monday that sales of the
PlayStation Portable handheld reached 1.4 million in North America
during the Nov. 23 to Dec. 31 holiday shopping period.
Including sales of 1.3 million for PlayStation 2, PS3's
predecessor, retail sales of the three PlayStation machines
combined reached more than 3.9 million in North America,
Tokyo-based Sony said.
Nintendo spokesman Yasuhiro Minagawa said sales numbers for the
Wii - a hot Christmas gift this year - weren't available for the
same period in the U.S.
Nintendo said previously it had shipped 13.2 million units
worldwide of the Wii by October. The Kyoto-based maker of Pokemon
and Super Mario games is expecting to sell a cumulative 23 million
Wiis by March 31, the end of its fiscal year.
Sony has said previously that it sold 5.6 million PS3s worldwide
as of the end of September. The latest will add to the tally but
the company did not yet have the numbers from the other regions.
The PS3 has lagged behind the Xbox 360 console from Microsoft,
which has sold 17.7 million Xbox 360 consoles globally over the
last two years.
In a tie-up that could help sales, Sony said Monday that
PlayStation Portable users worldwide will be able to make calls
through the popular Internet-based phone service, eBay Inc.'s
Skype, starting later this month.
The PSP must be the latest model released in September, and
download of special software and a microphone would be needed.
Users would also have to sign up for the Skype service, which
provides free calls to other Skype users.