PlayStation 2 remains the market leader in sales

Sony Computer Entertainment America announced that, even in the face of two console launches from competing companies, its PlayStation 2 platform had its best holiday sales period since launch. The company said that based on internal sales data, it sold 3 million PlayStation 2 consoles in North America during the months of November and December. Specifically, more than 988,700 PlayStation 2 computer entertainment systems were sold during November 2001 and more than2 million additional units were sold during December 2001. In terms of software tie-in, six games were sold for each console in the month of December. The company's Japanese counterpart experienced similar success during the final two months of 2001, selling 2 million units during that period in its respective territory.

"The PlayStation 2's phenomenal sales during the holiday season, and throughout 2001, is good news for the industry overall,'' said Kaz Hirai, president and chief operating officer of Sony Computer Entertainment America. "There is a huge consumer market in the US for in-home entertainment. As more people diversify their entertainment options, we see newer forms--like games--growing exponentially in comparison with traditional mediums. Looking to 2002, we anticipate by the sheer size of our growing loyal fan base and the strength of our established industry partners that the PlayStation business will continue to propel this category to new heights, changing the landscape of the living room.''

In total, Sony claims that it has sold about 8 million units of the PS2 in North America during the 14 months since launch. The total worldwide shipments have exceeded 20 million units.