Sony Responds To March NPD Sales, Seems Pleased

While March’s hardware sales data may have been grim reading for Sony, they’re not worried. Oh no. They’ve got software sales to crow about!

Namely, the fact there were three PlayStation 3 games in the month’s top ten sales (Resident Evil 5, MLB’09 The Show & Killzone 2), which is the first time we can remember that happening in a long time. If it’s ever happened at all.

As for hardware sales, Sony chose not to focus on the present, and instead focus on the future. “The best part of what PlayStation has to offer this year is a relentless string of AAA games. We’ve lined up mass entertainment appeal from the hard core gamer who can’t wait to get their hands on a game like MAG, the industry’s first 256-player shooter, to the casual gamer who wants to take their RockBand skills on the road via the PSP” says SCEA’s Patrick Seybold.

“We’re also seeing exciting preliminary numbers for PlayStation 2 with the recent price cut and we couldn’t be more pleased with the continued entertainment value and gameplay the platform provides even in its ninth year. We’ve got a confident plan ahead and have many cards yet to deal, so consumers can rest assured there’s a lot to look forward to from PlayStation this new fiscal year.”

Patrick Seybold: super pleased.

Sony’s full statement below:

Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) continues to deliver premium entertainment content and experiences, kicking off 2009 with the PLAYSTATION®3 (PS3) blockbuster exclusive Killzone® 2 on February 27. With more than 1 million copies sold worldwide and a truly “only on PlayStation” experience, the hit game has garnered the biggest initial success at retail of any first-party PS3 title to date, and will continue to drive incentive for hardware sales throughout the year. MLB® 09 THE Show™ is also garnering tremendous reception by gaming media and sports fans alike, with a recent New York Times review stating, “at its heart [MLB® 09 THE Show] is the most organic, rhythmically accurate and natural simulation of any team sport.” Approximately 1 in every 3 PS3 titles achieve Metacritic scores of 80 or higher, which affirms PlayStation’s proven track record in delivering rich and relevant entertainment content. SCEA is staged for yet another breakout fiscal year with a broad range of highly anticipated PS3 exclusives, including inFamous, Uncharted 2: Among Thieves™, MAG™, Heavy Rain, God of War® III, and Rachet & Clank® Future: A Crack in Time.

SCEA is also seeing positive internal sales momentum for PlayStation®2 (PS2) hardware sales for April and as the most played game console last year, the PS2 system continues to serve as a great choice for family entertainment, with its new $99.99 price point and ability to play back DVDs and CDs. Offering an unmatched library of nearly 1,900 games in North America, PS2 owners will see new additions such as MLB® 09 THE Show™ and MotorStorm®: Arctic Edge as well as major franchise titles from SCEA’s publishing partners, including Ghostbusters: The Video Game and Guitar Hero Metallica come to the platform this fiscal year.

Portable entertainment continues to gain tremendous momentum across the industry and the PSP® system is poised for its most exciting and diverse line up yet. SCEA has planned an unprecedented line up of games and content from publishing partners including Square Enix, Electronic Arts, Ubisoft, and popular first party franchises to hit the PSP platform, such as LittleBigPlanet and MotorStorm. Also, to commemorate the debut of the Rock Band franchise on the PSP platform later this year, SCEA will be releasing a limited edition Rock Band branded entertainment pack at the launch of Rock Band™ Unplugged. In addition to a stellar line up this fiscal year, PSP users will have new freedom in how they access their on-the-go content, with the test case digital-only distribution of Patapon 2 release on May 5.

PlayStation Network continues to expand its service to over 55 countries around the globe connecting more than 20 million registered users to each other and to a variety of digital entertainment options, including the revolutionary PlayStation Home service which accounts for more than 5 million users worldwide. PlayStation Network’s game library includes more than 180 downloadable games with extensive range of games from Ragdoll Kung Fu and Flower to growing selections from publishing partners, such as Wheel of Fortune and Noby Noby Boy. With the addition of NBC Universal content to PlayStation Network’s video delivery service, consumers today have access to more than 1,700 movies and 5,700 television episodes from every major motion picture studio, including new movie releases such as Wanted and Role Models. The top ranked downloaded game in March was Flower and the top downloaded movie was Twilight.