PlayStation 4 Sales The Key To Sony Turnaround, Executives Suggest
PlayStation 4 sales are setting records this Christmas, and executives with Sony suggest this could be exactly what the company needs to turn around following a series of disappoints, including movies that have been busts in theaters and an electronics business that has slid against Samsung and other competitors in recent years.
According to the Financial Times, PlayStation 4 sales are better this Christmas than they have ever been. FT also reports PlayStation 4 sales are on track with PlayStation 2 and could go on to become Sony’s bestselling game console ever.
“We’ve just seen the most successful Black Friday in the company’s history,” Andrew House, president and global chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment, told the newspaper. “We are now trying to benchmark against the success of the PlayStation 2 — or exceed it if possible.”
The sales of PlayStation 4 are not necessarily being driven by American gamers, the news outlet reported, but instead of emerging gaming markets in China and the Middle East. Europe is another growth market for the company, according to the report.
For anyone who may not be aware, the PlayStation is not out of reach financially. In fact, the prices are considerably cheaper than other entertainment gift ideas like the iPad or Galaxy tablets, which both start at prices closer to $500. Website Destructoid said some PlayStation bundles are retailing for as low as $289 online.
“The discounted PS4 consoles will run through December 19th, though we suspect a $300 price tag may be the norm come Q1 2016. For the eBay deal linked above, the retailer in question is Antonline (an authorized Sony reseller) and their deal will run until the 15th or until sold out. We’ve been told that there’s 4,000 units available so its doubtful to last for more than a few days. Tax in CA/GA only and you’ll get the full warranty.
“If Star Wars: Battlefront isn’t your cup of tea, the only other discounted PS4 would be the Uncharted Collection bundle – which is also available at Best Buy, Walmart, GameStop, and Amazon.”
The news that PlayStation 4 sales are strong this year, resulting in the largest Black Friday in Sony’s history, is likely welcome news for the company. Not only has Sony struggled with a sluggish movie studio and slow sales in its consumer electronics segment (home computers, televisions, etc.), but the company was recently in the news for reasons it could not have imagined.
As The Inquisitr reported last month, it is believed that several of the Paris attackers could have been using the PlayStation game console to communicate with terror masterminds in the Middle East, Belgium, and elsewhere. The encrypted communication offered through the game console is nearly impossible for government surveillance like the National Security Agency (NSA) to penetrate without becoming parts of the games themselves.
As a result of the difficult task of monitoring gaming, terror suspects are able to use the encrypted communications offered in gaming consoles like the PlayStation 4 and others to not only plan potential attacks, but in the case of terror attacks in India, terrorists have used the encrypted communication to speak with each other as the attacks were in progress.
At 8 p.m. EST Sunday (Dec. 6), President Barack Obama will give only his third Oval Office address since taking office to discuss the recent attack in California which is being investigated as terrorism. It is unknown whether Obama will discuss methods used by the husband and wife attackers to plan their attack on a workplace Christmas party, though as previously reported by the Inquisitr federal government officials have long worried about the potential for planning through encryption.
[Featured image by Christian Petersen/Getty Images]
