Sony announced on Friday that it had achieved cumulative worldwide
shipments of 10 million units of the Playstation2 in its first year
on the market. In comparison, its original PlayStation took three
years to reach the same milestone.
The company said in a statement that it is looking to nearly
double PlayStation 2 shipments during fiscal year 2002, beginning
1st April, 2001, with a projected worldwide target of 20 million
units. Sony was recently forced to cut its 2000/01 target from ten
million to nine million after problems with the supply of the
graphics chip.
The shipment figures and the launch date for each territory are
as follows:
- Japan: 4.65 million units, launched 4th March 2000
- North America: 2.76 million units, launched 26th October
2000
- Europe: 2.63 million units, launched 24th November 2000
Nintendo and Microsoft are expected to release competing
consoles later this year.
