Sony Monitors PlayStation 'Issues' as Debut Sales Top 1 Million - Businessweek

Jordan Smith, left, and Kayla Brittingham, share a kiss after purchasing the Sony PlayStation 4 console during its midnight launch event in San Francisco, California, U.S. Photographer: Erin Lubin/Bloomberg

Sony Corp. (6758) sold a million PlayStation 4 consoles in North America during the first 24 hours after the units went on sale Nov. 15.

The results may help Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai, who has made the video-game console the centerpiece of a corporate turnaround strategy. Pressure has intensified on the CEO after the Tokyo-based company last month surprised investors by reporting an unexpected second-quarter loss.

Sony is competing for the attention of gamer players against Microsoft Corp., which is releasing the Xbox One this week. Sony has priced its console at $399, or $100 less than the Microsoft machine.

"We are thrilled that consumer reaction has been so phenomenal," Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. President Andrew House said in a statement yesterday. "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."

The company will have adequate supplies of the console through Christmas and stands by earlier projections for sales of 5 million units by March, Jack Tretton, president and chief executive officer of the company's U.S. computer entertainment division, said Nov. 11.

To contact the reporter on this story: Grace Huang in Tokyo at xhuang66@bloomberg.net

To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Tighe at mtighe4@bloomberg.net

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