PSN sales surprise even Sony CEOs

by Nick Doerr { Jan 28th 2008 at 2:30PM }

The PlayStation 3 is experiencing a power surge. No, it didn't ingest PowerThirst, but people have been purchasing the system and utilizing the PlayStation Store more than even Sony expected. SCEE president and CEO, David Reeves, expressed that very sentiment in regards to the European market: "We've gone from zero to almost double-digit millions in terms of what people have purchased in euros." Awesome.

If this is any indication of Sony's 2008 domination (relative to their performance in 2007), we're off to a great start. We wonder how PSN sales are doing in the US and Japan, because quite frankly, Europe has often gotten the shaft when it comes to downloadable titles. We can only imagine if there will be another surge when Home releases, or if we'll get a surprising lull. Who knows.

[via CVG]

Tags: david-reeves, ps-store, psn, scee

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Ruben @ Jan 28th 2008 2:34PM

old, old, old.

PS3 pink clan killer @ Jan 28th 2008 2:37PM

good to here. Im gonna download Pixel monsters this weekend. I love desktop tower defense and this is the same game on steroids.

Popfrogs @ Jan 29th 2008 9:04AM

I just picked it up last night and it's worth every penny and then some. Even the intro levels are challenging and fun to replay over and over. It's interesting switching up tactics, i.e. cashing in your anti-air towers after the wave of flying monsters are done, saving up gems instead of spending them on upgrades then buying new tower types, etc. There are so many different ways to complete each level, it really stays fresh. I love this little game.

James Gnann @ Jan 28th 2008 2:38PM

I live in the states, and have bought PixelJunk monsters and a GH3 pack, but that's it. I'm hoping the prices will come down just a dollar or two more so Ive held off on buying a lot of stuff so far.

Trev @ Jan 28th 2008 3:00PM

SuperStardust and Everyday Shooter are worth every cent, provided you like the dual-stick shooter thing. Getting something for less is always good, but these are just two wonderfully constructed and executed games. There's a SSD demo if you want to try it. Both games are pretty intense, but but manage to be totally different even though they share a shooting mechanic..

Mobilehavoc @ Jan 28th 2008 2:41PM

Hopefully this will move them towards the same model as Xbox Live with downloadable movies and other content. I just got a PS3 and the amount of content on PSN compared to Xbox Live is just embarassing...PSN has a lot of catching up to do.

myself @ Jan 28th 2008 2:46PM

bring the psn cards and its gonna be increased...

nihillasohen @ Jan 28th 2008 2:51PM

I think sales will go up when achievements are installed with home.

chris.westermann @ Jan 28th 2008 3:39PM

I was just wondering about PSN sales recently and how they never seem to post any sales figures about it. I figured maybe it was because the PSN was underperforming, but then that doesn't make sense. For the first 6 months of the PS3 existence good retail games were pretty scarce and a lot of people I know spent their time playing games like Blast Factor, Flow and SuperStardust. I could imagine that at least one of these games was purchased for every PS3 sold, and I am betting that all three ended up on a large percentage of all systems sold. Thats over 8 million systems now. Considering the low overhead of distributing games on the PSN, and the relatively cheaper costs to produce these games, I can see the PSN being anything but a real money maker. Its just that Sony controls all the numbers of these games because there is no way for a 3rd party to know what the sales numbers would be (unlike VG Chartz looking at retail store sales figures and stock). It sounds like the PSN is doing well, its about time Sony released some cold hard figures about how many games and add-on content is being pushed through this service.

jtedesco33 @ Jan 29th 2008 9:11AM

They are smart enough to know not to release hard numbers. If they were to do that 360 would come out with it's numbers and completely destroy the momentum that Sony supporters are trying to build up.

Len hillegass @ Jan 28th 2008 4:10PM

If i own a game and they release a add on pack i buy it right away. Ninja Gaiden, Motorstorm, GH3, I bought Everyday shooter i Love that game,the dude that made that game is real cool, I sent him a email to tell him I thought the game was cool,to my suprise he sent me a email back with in a half hour thanking me for buying the game and gave me some pointers I couldn't belive it. I will buy his next game 1st day just for being a cool guy. I love the psn I just cant wait for Thursdays to come around. PSN FTW!!

Vincent @ Jan 28th 2008 4:23PM

Pretty cool. Now imagine if the PSN was Global O.O

Dr_LHA @ Jan 28th 2008 4:40PM

I wonder what PSN sales are like in Europe compared to the USA, especially given that PSN titles seem to be cheaper in Europe than in the USA, which is an odd reversal of roles. E.g. Locoroco is 2 quid in UK and $7 in USA, Tekken 5:DR is $20 in the US and 7 quid in the UK.

wacko @ Jan 28th 2008 7:25PM

no, if you know your currency rates those numbers translate just perfect actually. the $ isnt worth mutch these days and the pound (£= not the euro) is and has always been strong

A @ Jan 28th 2008 10:27PM

actually wacko I believe two pounds is around 4 US dollars. The same goes for Tekken... 7 pounds actually converts to around 14 US dollars. Here is the site: www.xe.com try it yourself. Has all the major currencies.

bs6268d @ Jan 28th 2008 4:44PM

I wish they will get those iTunes kinda cards for psn here dont like putting credit card online

Chubbs @ Feb 12th 2008 4:15PM

They will. PS.blog said it themselves and I think they are coming out sometime in Feb.

aMIGA_dUDE @ Jan 28th 2008 5:09PM

In UK it would be good if you could pay by e-vouchers services aka "Pay Point". Like pay lot bills and for mobile so easy with "pay point"

Kevin @ Jan 28th 2008 5:27PM

400 BABIES!!!!!!
Feed them Shocklate.

Fraser JK @ Jan 28th 2008 5:43PM

Since the 360 had this stuff all along, people were waiting for it on their PlayStations and now they have it! Don't stop the supply Son(y)!

Faar @ Jan 28th 2008 6:00PM

If Sony's gonna brag about how well they're doing in Europe, how about releasing friggin Everyday Shooter! We've been waiting for it for almost two and a half months now.

Also, where is the bloody Blast Factor expansion? It must have been out for over six months by now in the US.

The latest, fan-made Folklore pack isn't out yet either, though to be fair most of the other packs released first here. Still, these inconsistencies are terribly annoying. There's no reason we should have to wait like this.

dustandechoes91 @ Jan 28th 2008 6:34PM

Its because it saves credit cards, so kids get thier parents to let them get one thing, and then they go spending later.

roach @ Jan 28th 2008 6:52PM

IMAGINE if it were Live!!!

Jamesology @ Jan 28th 2008 9:25PM

I admit I buy it stuff there too. But it's b/c of the lacks of games. I ended up buying Flow. OMG that was a bad move. Thank God, Burnout came out. And yes Stardust HD and PixelJunk Monters are worth EVERY penny I spend on it. OMG screw this I'm gonna play it now.

DrunkRaba @ Jan 28th 2008 11:47PM

I have 12 games bought off of the PSN and a few add-ons here and there like Omerga dawn. Glad to see the PSN is doing well for Sony, that should encourage them to add more content and perhaps make a unified store worldwide.

iCubPro @ Jan 29th 2008 8:06AM

Here's a surprise, Pixeljunk Monsters - $7.99 or £3.49

That's better than the exchange rate! Good to see us brits aren't been screwed again! (it's worth every penny... Even every cent!)

JAH75157 @ Jan 29th 2008 8:33AM

I'd probably buy something if COD4 didn't take up every waking moment i have already. It's like crack I can't quit playing.

Dustin @ Jan 29th 2008 10:48AM

Personally, the reason I turn my PS3 on 50% of the time is to watch a blu-ray movie. The other 45ish% is to play a PSN title... I almost never put an actual disk in, unless I've rented one from Gamefly. I'm on the XBLA a lot more than PSN, but mostly just so I can be talking to my XBL friends.

PSN does have a ton of great titles, though.