CES: Sony ships 1mil PS3s in NA, targets 6mil worldwide by March '07
by Christopher Grant 
{ Jan 7th 2007 at 8:40PM }
SCEA's Senior Vice President of Marketing, Peter Dille, took the stage at Sony's CES press conference to announce that Sony has met their goal of shipping 1 million PlayStation 3s in North America before the end of the year, in addition to imposing another goal on themselves: 6 million worldwide by March 2007. Even though they remind us that the PS3 reached 1 million units shipped (not sold) faster than either the PS1 or PS2 (check their math), we still think hitting 6 million units is ambitious. To put things in perspective, the Xbox 360 sold 1.5 million units worldwide in its first holiday season, with 900K sold in North America.
[Update: clarified the regions in question. Thanks, Steve2.]
Reader Comments (Page 1 of 2)
Blake @ Jan 7th 2007 8:47PM
Has anyone heard whether PS3 is likely to launch here in Australia (and Europe) in March? I am still skeptical.
Pedro @ Jan 7th 2007 10:59PM
1 million. Wow. If only they could have SOLD that many.
phh @ Jan 7th 2007 9:15PM
Well, that would explain all the PS3s piling up unsold at Best Buy...
Fozzie @ Jan 8th 2007 12:17AM
Now THAT is comedy.
dybot @ Jan 7th 2007 8:50PM
Pardon me, didn't Sony originally plan to ship 4 million units by this time, then when changed their mind to 2 million and then to 1 million as they encountered problems with blue diode production?
I just want to know as I'm pretty sure their target was at least 2 million so how did they meet their target?
DDre @ Jan 7th 2007 8:52PM
the majority of the goal is probably for the Europe launch, considering in the U.S. there not flying off the shelves like they thought it would.
DeltaP42 @ Jan 7th 2007 8:53PM
Yeah, I don't think they have to worry about getting more on the shelves....they need to worry about finding away to get people to take them OFF the shelves.
Insomnia Bob @ Jan 7th 2007 8:57PM
I'd be VERY interested in seeing how many units out of that million have actually sold...but I doubt they'll post those numbers. It would probably cause their stock prices to implode.
ThreeSixWii @ Jan 8th 2007 5:48PM
How many ps3 did I see on the shelf in Best Buy AND Wall Mart yesterday? Many.
How many Wii on the shelf? None.
One million SHIPED does not equal one million SOLD.
ThreeSixWii @ Jan 8th 2007 5:48PM
How many ps3 did I see on the shelf in Best Buy AND Wall Mart yesterday? Many.
How many Wii on the shelf? None.
One million SHIPED does not equal one million SOLD.
KingBroly @ Jan 8th 2007 8:13AM
5 million more units by March? I doubt it, especially in 2 months. Maybe 3 million more units, especially without a European launch.
Einhanderkiller @ Jan 7th 2007 9:03PM
Did Sony fix the issues with blue diode production yet?
Jaydan @ Jan 8th 2007 2:40AM
Hmm.. is it me, or does Joystiq very pro-ms and very anti-sony? i've noticed they find fault in everything sony and nothing ms? is it an american support thing? Is that how they get to have lunch with mr bill gates? lol
ic @ Jan 8th 2007 2:23AM
they can ship all the systems they want - just don't forget about getting a couple of good games out ASAP or they'll be sitting in warehouses. Resistance is great and all, but one games does not a great gaming system make - glad I have the 360 too. The industry needs this competition to make gaming as a whole better for the consumer. I don't really care who wins, but it'll be nice if things are close to really push the companies to benefit gamers even more.
mietha CAG @ Jan 7th 2007 9:07PM
To #4: Yeah, seriously. I was just at Target and they had 10 or so 60 gig versions. It just seems like there is no, or at least not much, interest. Then again, there's really not a whole lot to play either. Release something exclusive with final fantasy in the title and they'll be fine. They seriously need to be kissing square's ass though, because if they lose square's exclusivity, they won't even win Japan. Guess this is what happens when most of your first-party games are crap. I have one, and I love mine, but if I were objective about it, it really isn't worth $600, at least not at this time.
Gamer98 @ Jan 7th 2007 9:09PM
....No.
Steve2 @ Jan 7th 2007 9:14PM
Sony announced they shipped 1 milion PS3s TO THE US since launch, not 1 million total.
http://www.kotaku.com/gaming/top/ps3-launch-outsells-xbox-360-launch-226742.php
This is a huge difference. Comparing to the 360, for example, MS sold 1.5M worldwide in the same time, 900,000 in North America.
This means the PS3 outsold 360 in North America at launch, compared to 360's launch. It also outsold 360 in Japan at launch, compared to 360's launch.
Please, this is a massive error in reporting.
sonicyouth @ Jan 7th 2007 9:15PM
It's totally worth it for the Blu Ray movie playback. I'm Netflixing Blu Ray movies, which look amazing at 1080i on my 104" screen (using an Optoma HD70 projector.) Much better content for games and movies is just around the corner...but not a price drop.
Furyhunter @ Jan 8th 2007 5:33PM
Yeah, and just to inform you, "1 million ----shipped----". 360 ----sold---- 900k in the US on first holiday season. Real nice misread there pal.
Dux @ Jan 7th 2007 9:28PM
Despite the bad news surrounding the PS3 launch, the PS3 is doing great in terms of sells. 1 Million before PS1, PS2 and Xbox 360? Could Kataku be wrong?
Atilac @ Jan 8th 2007 9:36AM
They might hit 5 million by the end of the year, with worldwide sales. 5 million in 2+ months is outside the realm of possibility.
Dild @ Jan 7th 2007 9:40PM
Their target was 2 million, not 1 million.
They missed it.
JRM @ Jan 7th 2007 9:43PM
I'll wait for the NPD report, thankyou.
glitched @ Jan 7th 2007 9:52PM
According to NPD, microsoft only sold 600K its first holiday season in the US, not 900K
http://vgcharts.com/page3.html
TSHBO!! @ Jan 7th 2007 9:45PM
Sony shipped 1 million to NORTH AMERICA.
The 1 million does not include the 500K+ sold in Japan.
Callandor @ Jan 7th 2007 9:46PM
@ 11
There is no way that the PS3 is worth buying because of Blu-Ray playback. There is nothing wrong with standard DVD-ROM. It's silly that people go around beating their chests about HD-DVD and BR when nobody except tech nerds give a damn.
Anyway, it's laughable that Sony expects to move that many units in a couple of months. The 360 just now hit 10 million, and Sony is expecting to sell half of Microsoft's total market share in such a short period of time. Pathetic.
dick @ Jan 7th 2007 9:48PM
wii. believe it.
El Chino @ Jan 8th 2007 1:06PM
ITS ONE MILLION IN THE US!!!!!!!! GET IT RIGHT EDITORS!!
Joystiq editors don't like the PS3. I saw him on Attack of The Show and he eat the PS3 up. At least the guy from Kotaku gave the PS3 its props for the future games coming out for it on that episode!!!!!!!!!!
http://finance.myway.com/jsp/nw/nwdt_rt_top.jsp?news_id=ap-d8mgped00&.html
AG @ Jan 7th 2007 9:53PM
Well, now that the launch issues are behind them, 2007 looks to be a great year for Sony. One million in the US alone by the end of the year is great considering the production issues. With the fact that this is more than the PS1,PS2,or Xbox 360 had in the US at the end of it's initial launch holiday,
it puts the PS3 in a better position to grow in it's first full year.
Sonic @ Jan 8th 2007 7:37AM
Just look at old quotes to solve this puzzle.
David004 @ Jan 7th 2007 10:00PM
I like how we are comparing the SHIPPING numbers of the PS3 to the SALE numbers of the 360. They can ship 10 million to the USA and all that would mean is that instead of 12 PS3s sitting on floors of stores everywhere it would be 120.
Dumbass Sony fanboys....
Chrispy @ Jan 7th 2007 10:02PM
Any of you got a share in sony? or any other game company for that matter? I don't know what the fuss is about with these sales figures and projected sales, we play because we enjoy it. You buy a system for the games, sonys got a nice backlog of games and some good game contracts. It will sell, but right now nintendo's got controll because people are enjoying wii play. Look at it this way, when a good PS3 game comes out you ain't gonna have a problem getting a console to play it on :)
James @ Jan 7th 2007 10:01PM
There is a rather large worry that they should be keeping in mind. Advertising.
I'm sure everyone has seen the ads for PS3 that excessively try to sell the hardware itself, but how many of you have seen ads for its games other than Resistance?
This is probably their largest problem. They have to get it out there that they have a lot of good games to select from for such a system. The problem is that many of these games are neither very exciting, or not advertised very well.
Even stranger is that they seem to be losing support for Blue-Ray. How many of these movies have been promoted on TV and on the net. Not enough.
Personally, I think that's where they should concentrate on. Advertising as well as producing awesome titles and PR are going to be mandatory for such an expensive system's survival.
Callandor @ Jan 7th 2007 10:02PM
Sony at first couldn't get enough on the shelves, but now they can't get them off. The PS3 may have sold
well initially, but Sony is going to have to fight an uphill battle against Microsoft and Nintendo for it to do well. If this trend of poor sales continues, Sony may wind up losing even more third-party exclusives and the PS3 will be the new GameCube.
At first, I thought Sony would do well over an extended period of time, but I'm starting to think that they are seriously fucked.
hohoho @ Jan 7th 2007 10:21PM
oh boy thread waits to be properly raped by fanboys from all sides. I'm puking with anticipation.
HotShotX @ Jan 8th 2007 7:27AM
6 Million PS3s by March 2007?! All the GameStops in the world won't have enough space in the backroom to store all those unsold PS3s...
~HotShotX
Craigo @ Jan 7th 2007 10:19PM
From the NYT: Daniel A. DeMatteo, vice chairman and chief operating officer at GameStop, said Thursday that for the first time last week there were PlayStation 3 consoles in stock at hundreds of the company’s 3,700 outlets. Not so for the Wii, which costs $249 and is still flying off shelves.
Add to that the rumors, to be judged Thursday, of a poor attach rate on top of slowing demand - Chrispy, if anyone does still have Sony stock, it's time to sell.
t202 @ Jan 11th 2007 1:24AM
Since PS2 released in JAPAN on March,2000
week weekly total
1 706,250 706,250
2 172,750 879,000
3 80,500 959,500
4 126,250 1,085,750
Since PS3 released in JAPAN on november,11,2006
week weekly total
1 86,750 86,750
2 43,500 130,250
3 35,750 166,000
4 31,500 197,500
Even Add NPD's U.S. Quanity 197000
PS3 only sold 394,500
Apparently the PS3 has sold 1m units slower than PS2.
C. Grant @ Jan 7th 2007 10:27PM
Thanks guys, I've updated the post with some more accurate numbers. I left the 900k number, which is from Microsoft's earnings call, figuring their own internal claims are as fair as Sony's own (probably also shipped, not sold). We can compare NPD's numbers when they release their December report later this month.
El Chino @ Jan 7th 2007 10:30PM
Even stranger is that they seem to be losing support for Blue-Ray. How many of these movies have been promoted on TV and on the net. Not enough.
Then why has every motion picture company except Universal have backed Blu-Ray and Disney doing Blu-Ray exclusive.
Also, see adds for Crank, Grid Iron Gang, etc on Tv all the time promoting Blu-Ray along with DVD edition.
So what the Hell are you talking about?
Michael @ Jan 7th 2007 10:36PM
>The 360 just now hit 10 million, and Sony is expecting to sell half of Microsoft's total market share in such a short period of time. Pathetic.
What's trully pathetic is that SONY probaby WILL sell about 5mil units world wide by the end of March. Yep - SONY will do in about a quarater half of what Microsoft did in about a year...
Michael
Zweibel @ Jan 7th 2007 10:36PM
Even if it does manage to ship that many units by March '07, I'm not buying one until they release a few games worth buying. In fact, that is the same reason I have yet to purchase a Xbox 360. =P
El Chino @ Jan 8th 2007 1:05PM
Why do people consider the PS3 to be expensive? Its only 200 bucks more than the 360. I mean what is 200 dollars? 10-14 days worth of groceries for my family!!! Not a big deal of money!!! The PS3 just only goes to show you how broke as hell MOST Americans are. I feel where the Democrats are coming from if 200 bucks is going to kill you. GET A LIFE BROKE F*CKS.
David004 @ Jan 7th 2007 10:46PM
Do you have a Wii Zweibel?
Optimus Prime @ Jan 7th 2007 10:47PM
They wanted 2 million world wide for 2006 (it was 4 then 2); all they did was divert units from Japan (which got about 500k total) and put off stockpiling for the Euro launch. Sooo, it seems like they've solved their production issues.
Aeikozz @ Jan 8th 2007 3:20AM
that's great and all but they'll just be 1 million ps3 sitting on store shelves. might wanna bring that price down some.
Steve2 @ Jan 7th 2007 10:59PM
I don't see PS3 selling 5M worldwide by March unless they cut the price, it's just unrealistic for a $500 console with so few games.
Optimus, Sony's original plans were 500,000 units at US launch, 100,000 per week to the US after that. 100,000 units at JPN launch, 100,000 per week to JPN after that.
So Sony didn't divert a whole lot of units from JPN to the US. They did fall short of sales goals in Japan it would seem, and of course the overall hope of 2M was not met either.
Despite all this, on the whole, number of units-wise it's a pretty good launch. They have to follow it up with some games though, and in short order.
I expect Sony is happy with their production rates now, and confident they can launch in Europe in March or so. The real question is when will games be ready for the European launch. There's no point in launching in Europe until there are some games available, and I don't mean Genji.
Paul Mitchell @ Jan 8th 2007 4:14AM
Just face it, Sony PS3 is a failure. Average consumers do not care about the past or future. They do not care if the PS1 or PS2 was great. Nor do they care if the PS3 will be a great gaming console in the future. What they know is that NOW, the Xbox360 had many amazing games and that the Wii is fun.
insertnamehere @ Jan 10th 2007 1:16AM
In the link Joystiq provided, even Sony itself showed that they reached 1M shipped PS2's in Japan alone within 3 weeks, and 1.5 within four weeks. It took Sony twice as long to ship 1M consoles in the US alone for the PS3. The PS2 has sold faster.
Pixelbox @ Jan 8th 2007 12:52AM
number-wrangling aside, I think everyone here agrees that Sony needs to drop the price soon on the PS3 or be in a heap of trouble this generation.