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Sony: PlayStation sales momentum continues through 2008

PS3 may have been outsold by Xbox 360 in March, but Sony remains confident of sales growth

Sony has reacted positively to the NPD data that shows it lost ground against Microsoft during March, which saw more Xbox 360 sales than Sony’s PS3.

Microsoft reclaimed its second place position in sales, just below Nintendo’s Wii, by selling 262,000 Xbox 360 consoles and beating out the PS3 which sold 257,000 units. Despite this, Sony remains optimistic, pointing out a year-over-year sales growth of over 98 per cent.

"Our sales momentum continues to defy what is traditionally a sluggish sales month," said Jack Tretton, CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment America.

"PS3 continued the strong momentum with a year-over-year sales growth of over 98 per cent. It is proof that, in these economically challenging times, consumers recognise the long-term value of our platforms and the tremendous heritage of our brand in delivering the best entertainment experience."

Sony also saw PSP sales reach 297,011 units, a growth of 22.1 per cent over the previous month, and a sales increase of 65 per cent year-over-year. This helped Sony's total software sales hit 1.9 million units for March, representing a year-over-year growth of 139.2 per cent.

"PSP expanded the portable market with more than 297,011 in hardware sales this month, driven by the monster releases of the two best-selling handheld games in March, God of War: Chains of Olympus and Crisis Core: Final Fantasy VII.

"This further proves the trend that 2008 is the year for PlayStation," Tretton added.