Sony Corp. (6758) sold more than a million PlayStation 4 consoles in North America during the first 24 hours after the units went on sale Nov. 15.
The results come as Chief Executive Officer Kazuo Hirai is aiming to make the video game console the centerpiece of a corporate turnaround strategy. Pressure has intensified on the CEO after the company last month surprised investors by reporting an unexpected second-quarter loss.
Sony is competing for the attention of game players against Microsoft Corp., which is releasing the Xbox One this week. The Tokyo-based electronics maker has priced its console at $399, or $100 less than the Microsoft machine.
'PS4 sales are better than expected,' Koki Shiraishi, an analyst at SMBC Nikko Securities Inc. in Tokyo said by phone. 'More importantly, I am watching the penetration into the market one month after its release.'
Sony will have adequate supplies of the console through Christmas and stands by earlier projections for sales of 5 million units by March, Jack Tretton, president and chief executive officer of the company's U.S. computer entertainment division, said Nov. 11.
Sony shares rose 0.2 percent to 1,850 yen at 9:37 a.m. in Tokyo trading. The broader Topix index gained 0.2 percent.
The company is investigating reports of defective PS4 consoles, the New York Times reported yesterday. Sony spokesman Dan Race said only a small number of people reported problems, according to the article.
Race didn't immediately respond to an e-mail seeking comment.
The PS4 goes on sale in Europe and Latin America on Nov. 29.
To contact the reporter on this story: Grace Huang in Tokyo at xhuang66@bloomberg.net
To contact the editor responsible for this story: Michael Tighe at mtighe4@bloomberg.net
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