Sony Corp said yesterday that global sales of its PlayStation 4 console have surged past the 10 million mark in less than a year, a record for the Japanese electronics giant.
The console, released in November last year, has been a bright spot for the struggling firm, which earlier this year launched sweeping restructuring in an attempt to claw back to profitability.
The release of the PS4 in the US and other markets has helped to improve Sony’s fortunes after a disappointing response to the console’s predecessor, the PS3.
By comparison, Nintendo Co’s Wii U, launched in late 2012, took more than a year to sell 5.86 million units.
The PS4 is locked in a battle for dominance of the digital home entertainment market with Microsoft Corp’s Xbox One and the Wii U at a time when consoles are under intense pressure to prove their worth in a world where many now play downloadable games on smartphones and tablets.
“It’s a remarkable milestone that reinforces PS4’s record-breaking pace and the movement it has created among players globally in defining next-generation gaming,” Sony Computer Entertainment America president and chief executive Shawn Layden said in a statement.
Last month, Sony posted a profit in the first quarter, attributing it largely to strong demand for the PS4 and a sharp decline in the value of the yen.
Sony’s gaming division has emerged as a potential savior for the company, which is struggling to reinvent itself in the digital age, having been left in the dust by nimbler rivals, including South Korea’s Samsung Electronics Co.
Sony shares rose 2.31 percent to close at ￥1,815.5 in Tokyo trading.
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