Sony Computer Entertainment UK has announced that the PlayStation 3 gaming console has reached a new milestone in the UK; 2 million sold. The company also noted that the PSP handheld has now reached 3 million sold.
According to an interview with GI.biz however, Sony Europe senior VP Ray Maguire admitted the company in general is facing a very tough time, namely because of the ongoing worldwide recession. Maguire was confident that they console will sell another million over the next 12 months, as people flock to entertainment systems.
“I think it’s a tough time for everyone,” he said. “Probably more so in the UK, because we’re hit by the effects of currencies - euro, pound, yen and dollar - and the weakness of the pound is definitely an issue that affects us more than the rest of SCEE.
“We have to do as much in this office as we can to make sure that we can build on the success we had last year in terms of the units we sold, great IPs that we had to bring to market.
“This year we’ve got even more, even better product to put out there - but trading is difficult, it’s really tough. Just credit insurance - credit limits are going to be challenging for the whole of the year.
“These are things which are completely out of Sony’s control - it’s about the environment in which we trade, but we have to be responsible, we have to do what we need to do to make sure we give back to the shareholders what they need.”
Result for: scee
After just one year of availability, Sony has announced that it will be dropping its European PSP wireless communication package Go!Messenger.
The package, which was jointly developed by Sony and BT, allows users to send voice, video and instant messages to other Go!Messenger users from any wireless Internet connection, and will work over wireless Internet - including that provided by the 2,500-plus BT Openzone hotspots around UK city centers.
The service, although interesting, lacked users, and Sony decided it was time pull the plug.
“Although Go! Messenger brought innovative communications features to the PSP community, the service has not developed the base of users that we were hoping for,” noted Sony.
“Although it proved a popular concept, achieving a significant number of registrations, it didn’t gain the number of regular users that BT and SCEE were aiming for.”
Result for: scee
After it announced in mid-January that Skype would be heading to European PSPs, Sony has confirmed that the wireless communication package Go!Messenger will also hit European PSPs by the end of the week.
The package, jointly developed by Sony and BT lets users “send voice, video and instant messages to other Go!Messenger users from any wireless Internet connection, and will work over wireless Internet - including that provided by the 2,500-plus BT Openzone hotspots around UK city centers.”
The service is free in theory but you will need to purchase the PSP Go!Cam, which is a mic and video camera, if you want to use the package.
“Enabling more than 8.5 Million PSP users across the SCEE region to communicate with each other, through Video or Voice chat, truly confirms the always evolving nature and potential of PSP,” said PSP European marketing manager Stephane Hareau.
