Australian PlayStation Sales Go Ballistic
NewsBytes - November 05, 1998: 8:52 p.m. ET
SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA (NB) -- By David Frith, Computer Daily
News. Sony is claiming total victory in the video game market in
Australia, after selling a record 200,000 PlayStation games consoles
in June, July and August. The company is pouring A$5 million
(US$3.15 million) into a pre-Christmas marketing campaign and
expects to finish the year with more than 600,000 sales - a record and
100,000 units over target.
Sales of PlayStation software titles and peripherals are also going
through the roof, according to Sony Computer Entertainment (SCE)
managing director Michael Ephraim. So far in 1998 SCE Australia
claims to have sold 2 million games and more than 500,000
peripherals: statistics most PC hardware and software vendors would
envy.
Big PlayStation hits of 1998 include Gran Turismo, 150,000
units, worth some A$12 million ($7.57 million) at retail, sold since
May; Colin McRae Rally with 50,000 units sold; and Spice World
with 30,000 sales.
Ephraim estimates around one million more software units will be
sold in the lead-up to Christmas, including sales by SCE and third
party distributors, giving PlayStation a 15 percent penetration of
Australian households.
New titles expected to boost retailers sales include Spryo The
Dragon, Bust a Groove, Crash Warped, Tomb Raider 3 and Shane
Warne Cricket.
Ephraim says the explosive growth and sales records in Australia
have been mirrored around the world, with PlayStation sales of 10
million units in PAL territories in the last six months, compared with
43 million units sold over the past four years.
He reckons Sony's success is due to a wider range of software,
attracting "hard core gamers as well as first-time users, across a wider
demographic than our competitors." Even parents and females are
playing, he adds.
Exchange rate: $1 = A$1.59
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