Sony sells a million PS4 consoles on first day - Financial Times ~ Electronic Gadgets

Sony has sold more than a million PlayStation 4 consoles in North American shops within the first 24 hours, setting the strongest ever start for a games platform that analysts predict could be the last from the Japanese group.

Sony described the response from consumers as "phenomenal" as the Japanese group looked to set a rapid pace of sales ahead of the launch of the rival Xbox One games console from Microsoft this week.

The initial sales in North America, where Sony launched the platform last week ahead of Europe and Asia, make the group's sales targets appear achievable. Sony wants to sell about 3m globally by the end the calendar year – when there is likely to be an initial surge from early tech adopters as well as from family Christmas sales – with a target to sell about 5m by the end of its financial year in March.

"We are thrilled that consumer reaction has been so phenomenal," said Andrew House, chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment. "Sales remain very strong in North America, and we expect continued enthusiasm as we launch the PlayStation 4 in Europe and Latin America on November 29."

IHS predicts that Sony will sell 49m of its new console in the next five years, ahead of about 38m sales of the Xbox One.

There is much resting on the success of the two platforms at the rival technology groups, who are battling for space in living rooms across the world with devices that can show TV and video, stream music, and handle chat to friends as well as play games.

The early success of the platform will also be welcomed by software designers, which have invested heavily in blockbuster games designed to use the advanced graphics and social media aspects of the next generation consoles.

The rollout of PlayStation 4 has also been smoother than its previous console. Seven years ago, Sony sold far fewer PlayStation 3 consoles even in its first few weeks given supply shortages.

However, the new console has not been without problems given reports from some consumers that their PlayStation 4 consoles failed to work on arrival. Sony described these as isolated incidents.

CCS Insight, the research group, last week predicted that the Xbox One and PlayStation 4 would be the last generation of games consoles and would fail to match the sales achieved by their predecessors.

"As manufacturers try to broaden the appeal of such devices by repurposing them as general media hubs, dedicated games consoles will cease to exist as a distinct category," it said.

Copyright The Financial Times Limited 2013. You may share using our article tools.

Please don't cut articles from FT.com and redistribute by email or post to the web.

via Technology - Google News http://news.google.com/news/url?sa=t&fd=R&usg=AFQjCNHFVIfHNkYOILPl_3TA1qQ37Lkenw&url=http://www.ft.com/cms/s/0/1480e760-4f85-11e3-b06e-00144feabdc0.html