PS3 console and game lifetime sales revealed

The PlayStation 3 was launched in November 2006, and since then Sony Computer Entertainment has revealed that cumulative sales of the PS3 have hit 80 million units (sell-in) worldwide as of 2 November 2013.

That’s a lot of consoles. So how many games are available for the platform? Sony says that the cumulative number of software titles released for the PS3 system has reached 4,332 worldwide (As of 30 September 2013). That excludes download-only titles.

More than 300 more software titles are to be released globally from third party developers and publishers as well as from SCE Worldwide Studios this holiday season (total number of both Blu-ray Disc and download version that will be released from 1 November to 31 December 2013 in various regions).

Among Sony’s proudest gaming achievements is The Last of Us, which sold 3.4 million units in less than three weeks when it launched in June 2013 (As of 3 July 2013 including both Blu-ray Disc sell-in quantities and download version sales).

Journey was another cracker, winning six awards at the 13th annual Game Developers Choice Awards, and becoming the first video game in Grammy Award history to be nominated for Best Score Soundtrack.

The popular Gran Turismo franchise has sold more than 70 million copies worldwide (as of the end of March 2013).

Left: An original “fat” PlayStation 3 (PS3) console. This is a North American 60 GB model with hardware PlayStation 2 backwards compatibility, memory card readers and a chrome trim.
Right: A 120 GB PS3 “Slim” model shown with a DualShock 3 controller.
Source: Wikimedia Commons

PlayStation Network

When the PS3 launched in November 2006, Sony also launched PSNSM (PlayStation Network), an online multiplayer gaming and digital entertainment service, which now operates in 59 countries with more than 150 million cumulative registered accounts (as of 19 September 2013).

PlayStation Store (PS Store) boasts a global catalogue of more than 222,000 digital content options, including 72,000 game content packages (as of 31 October 2013).

With the PlayStation 4 about to launch (13 December 2013 in SA), Sony has reassured gamers that they will continue to support gaming and digital entertainment content on PS3 systems.