- Title: JAPAN: Sony celebrates 'phenomenal' sales of the Playstation 4
- Date: 21st February 2014
- Summary: TOKYO, JAPAN (FEBRUARY 21, 2014) (REUTERS) ++NIGHT SHOTS++ EXTERIOR OF SONY BUILDING SONY LOGO ON BUILDING TOKYO, JAPAN (FEBRUARY 21-22, 2014) (REUTERS) ***FLASH PHOTOGRAPHY*** CROWD COUNTING DOWN TO MIDNIGHT LAUNCH OF PLAYSTATION 4 IN JAPAN TOKYO, JAPAN (FEBRUARY 22, 2014) (REUTERS) PEOPLE HOLDING UP FOUR FINGERS / SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT PRESIDENT, ANDREW HOUSE, HOLDING PLAYSTATION BOX HOUSE HANDING BOX TO WINNER OF RAFFLE FOR FREE PLAYSTATION CROWD WAVING PLAYSTATION SCARVES BEHIND HOUSE AND WINNER OF RAFFLE HOUSE HOLDING UP FOUR FINGERS PLAYSTATION FANS IN COSTUME HOLDING BALLOONS TOKYO, JAPAN (FEBRUARY 21, 2014) (REUTERS) (SOUNDBITE) (English) SONY COMPUTER ENTERTAINMENT PRESIDENT, ANDREW HOUSE, SAYING: "We've actually been really delighted with the response to Playstation 4 so far. We were able just this week to announce that sales have topped 5.3 million units worldwide. I think that's confirmed as probably the most successful console launch in history, and it's been really just phenomenal across all of the different markets. We are doing our very best to keep the product in supply but it's proving to be extremely challenging right now." VARIOUS OF PEOPLE WALKING PAST PLAYSTATION DISPLAY OUTSIDE SONY BUILDING PLAYSTATION DEMONSTRATION AREA IN SONY BUILDING MAN USING 3D HEADSET MAN PLAYING PLAYSTATION IN FRONT OF BIG SCREEN CLOSE-UP OF HANDS OPERATING CONTROLLER (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 22-YEAR-OLD STUDENT, HARUKI KAWAKAMI, SAYING: "The Playstation 4 has far better specs than the Xbox One when you compare them. So I reckon that the difference between them will become really apparent over the next 3-5 years." VARIOUS OF PLAYSTATION 4 AND CONTROLLERS ON DISPLAY (SOUNDBITE) (Japanese) 24-YEAR-OLD STUDENT, TAKUYA SHIMA, SAYING: "Well this is the first time I've tried it, but the picture was so beautiful. I really want one now." VARIOUS OF FEMALE SONY EMPLOYEE PLAYING PLAYSTATION
- Embargoed: 8th March 2014 12:00
- Keywords:
- Location: Japan
- Country: Japan
- Topics: Business,Entertainment,Industry,Technology
- Reuters ID: LVAE497MSGFDLDKIV5SRJTFQ0Y47
- Story Text: Japan became the final country to see a Playstation 4 launch on Saturday (February 22), as Sony announced it had already beaten its full-year sales target for the console and was struggling to keep up with demand.
Sony had said that it hoped to sell 5 million units by the end of March after releasing the Playstation 4 on November 29 in the United States, Western Europe and Latin America and rolling it out across other Asian countries since then.
But even ahead of the Japan release, Sony Computer Entertainment President Andrew House said global sales had surpassed all expectations.
"We've actually been really delighted with the response to Playstation 4 so far. We were able just this week to announce that sales have topped 5.3 million units worldwide, I think that's confirmed as probably the most successful console launch in history. And it's been really just phenomenal across all of the different markets. We are doing our very best to keep the product in supply but it's proving to be extremely challenging right now," House told Reuters, referring to console sales as of February 8.
Microsoft said in January that it had sold more than 3 million of its Xbox One console by the end of December after it was also released in late November.
Sony is battling it out with Microsoft for victory in the latest generation of consoles, after Nintendo announced sales of its device, the Wii U, had flopped.
Fans gathered to try out the new Playstation before its midnight launch at Sony's flagship store in central Tokyo.
"The Playstation 4 has far better specs than the Xbox One when you compare them. So I reckon that the difference between them will become really apparent over the next 3-5 years," said 22-year-old student, Haruki Kawakami.
"Well this is the first time I've tried it, but the picture was so beautiful. I really want one now," 24-year-old Takuya Shima said.
Sony's previous generation of console, the PS3, was released in November 2006, after Microsoft launched its Xbox 360 a year earlier. - Copyright Holder: REUTERS
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