Sony Computer Entertainment said Wednesday that global shipments of its PlayStation and PSOne consoles have exceeded 100 million units, a record high for household computer games. The landmark was reached on Tuesday.
Originally launched in 1994 in Japan, PlayStations are now available in 120 countries and regions along with about 7,300 game titles, said the unit of Japanese electronics giant Sony Corp.
World-wide sales of the computer game jumped after the company modified its original 'PlayStation' console and launched it as the lightweight 'PSOne' in 2000, said Sony Computer Entertainment Inc.
The first two versions of the PlayStation, which are basically the same except for their size, have sold 100 million units since December 1994.
In the year to March 2004, the company produced and shipped 3.31 million PSOne units.
The PlayStation2 console, the most advanced version of the console which is also capable of online gaming and DVD playback, has sold 70 million units since it hit the market in a frenzy of publicity in March 2000.
However a Sony official said Wednesday that he believes the PlayStation and PSOne versions of the game still have a big part to play for the company.
"The market for PSOne is still profitable, though it is getting smaller. We expect the global annual sales volume to fall to one million this fiscal year" to March 2005, said the official, who declined to be named.
The official said that because PSOne was much cheaper than the PlayStation2, the company believed it would "continue to be a good entry-level model for non-game players to start playing games."
"PSOne also meets needs of those who are looking for less expensive gifts," he said, adding the company had no plans to stop production of the older console.
PSOne now sells for about 50 dollars per unit, down from the original price of about 130 dollars.
Last week the company said the newest incarnation in the PlayStation series, the PlayStation Portable or PSP would go on sale world-wide early next year, competing head to head in a segment dominated by the Nintendo Gameboy.
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