6 million PlayStation 4s sold

370,000 consoles sold through in Japan

Sony has announced that as of Monday, it has now sold more than 6 million PlayStation 4s around the world.

That includes 370,000 consoles sold through in Japan since the launch there on February 22. 13.7 million pieces of PlayStation 4 software have also been sold.

“I am absolutely delighted that PS4 is off to such a great start in Japan,” said SCE president Andrew House.

“The responses we have received for the PS4 system’s integrated social capabilities have been phenomenal, and I couldn’t be more thrilled that gamers are utilising these unique features to engage, share, play and connect with users around the world.  SCE will continue to expand the world of PlayStation by growing its library of breakthrough games and bringing more innovative features and services only possible on PS4.”

On the social side, the console’s share button has resulted in 100 million items of shared content and more than 3.6 million gameplay broadcasts.

In January Microsoft announced rival console the Xbox One had shipped 3.9 million units and last week the company confirmed a UK price cut down to £399.

 

Via Industry Gamers

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Thief steals UK #1

Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare enters at 4

There were plenty of new entries on the UK top twenty this week but Thief beat them all to the top spot.

Thief can boast the second highest sales for a number one title behind FIFA 14, and far surpasses the last Thief title, Thief: Deadly Shadows, to be released. It saw 46 per cent of its sales on PlayStation 4, with just 29 per cent on Xbox One, 14 per cent on Xbox 360 and 8 per cent on PlayStation 3.

Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare entered the chart at four, while sequel Castlevania: Lords of Shadow 2 made it in at ten. PS3 title Tales of Symphonia: Chronicles arrived on the chart at 13.

UKIE Games Charts courtesy of GfK Chart-Track

Last Week This Week Title
New entry 1 Thief
1 2 The LEGO Movie Videogame
2 3 FIFA 14
New entry 4 Plants Vs Zombies: Garden Warfare
3 5 Call Of Duty: Ghosts
4 6 Battlefield 4
5 7 LEGO Marvel Super Heroes
6 8 Minecraft: Xbox 360 Edition
8 9 Assassin’s Creed IV: Black Flag
New entry 10 Castlevania: Lords Of Shadow 2
7 11 Grand Theft Auto V
10 12 Rayman Legends
New entry 13 Tales Of Symphonia: Chronicles
12 14 Need For Speed: Rivals
16 15 Gran Turismo 6
9 16 Donkey Kong Country: Tropical Freeze
19 17 Aliens: Colonial Marines
17 18 LEGO Batman 2: DC Super Heroes
14 19 WWE 2K14
18 20 LEGO Star Wars: The Complete Saga

Via Industry Gamers

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Sony Corp. outlines further cuts

Original Tokyo HQ to be sold, 20 retail stores to be closed, 1000 layoffs for Sony Electronics

Sony’s ongoing struggle to remain profitable across the full breadth saw more casualties this week, with the sale of another major office building, the closure of 20 retail stores, and the possibility of 1000 redundancies in its electronics division.

Sony Corp. revealed 5000 imminent job cuts with its financial results earlier this month, and the company has now clarified that 1000 of those will hit its Sony Electronics business, reducing the division’s global headcount by a third. In addition, 20 Sony retail stores in North America will be closed.

“While these moves were extremely tough, they were absolutely necessary to position us in the best possible place for future growth,” said Sony Electronics president Mike Fasulo in a statement.

“I am entirely confident in our ability to turn the business around, in achieving our preferred future, and continue building on our flawless commitment to customer loyalty through the complete entertainment experience only Sony can offer.”

Now, AllThingsD reports that Sony Corp. will make its third major property sale in little more than a year. According to the Nikkei, Sony will sell its former HQ (from 1990 to 2007) in Tokyo’s Shinagawa district. The building is currently used for non-consumer purposes, and is said to be worth around $146 million.

Sony’s previous property sales are, admittedly, on an entirely different scale. The sale of its U.S. HQ in January last year was worth $1.1 billion, while the sale of its Osaki office in Tokyo was valued at $1.2 billion.

Indeed, Sony Computer Entertainment is among the company’s few bright spots at the moment. The PlayStation 4’s recent launch in Japan led to an additional 320,000 sales, taking the console’s global total to more than 5.6 million in little more than 3 months.

Via Industry Gamers

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Layoffs at Sony Santa Monica

SCEA confirms cuts at God of War studio; one project potentially cancelled

God of War AscensionLast month, the Sony Santa Monica buzz was all about the studio’s potential for expansion, but today’s news is instead about contraction. Sony Computer Entertainment of America has confirmed to IGN that it has instituted a round of layoffs at Sony Santa Monica.

“SCEA can confirm that we have completed a reduction in workforce at Santa Monica Studio,” the statement read. “This is a result of a cycle of resource re-alignment against priority growth areas within SCE WWS. We do not take these decisions lightly. However, sometimes it is necessary to make changes to better serve the future projects of the studio. We have offered outplacement services and severance packages to ease transition for those impacted.”

IGN first reported the cuts through unnamed sources, and said there were indications that one of the studio’s projects was cancelled as a result of today’s layoffs.

Sony Santa Monica is best known as the studio behind the God of War series (including last year’s God of War: Ascension), but it has also provided office space and support for a variety of other developers and projects, including Giant Sparrow’s The Unfinished Swan, and Superbot’s PlayStation All-Stars Battle Royale.

Via Industry Gamers

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Call of Duty Elite shutdown on Friday

“There are no plans to bring Call of Duty Elite back”

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After two years of service Activision is shutting down its Call Of Duty Elite scheme. Operation will cease on February 28, 2014 at approximately 10:00 a.m. (PST).

“There are no plans to bring Call of Duty Elite back,” said Activision.

“We encourage fans to download the Call of Duty app for Call of Duty: Ghosts, which allows players to customize their multiplayer character and weapons loadouts on the go, keep track of their Call of Duty: Ghosts stats, and features Call of Duty Clan Wars, where players can compete for cool, exclusive in-game gear.”

The service started life in November 2011 and was available in free and subscription versions, offering statistics and social networking and competitions and downloadable content like map packs. With the release of Call of Duty: Black Ops II made all Call of Duty Elite services free, with map packs sold separately.

Via Industry Gamers

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Oculus Rift production halted

Shortage of vital components, stock of units running low

Oculus VR has suspended production of its Rift virtual reality headset following a shortage of parts, according to a recent statement from the company.

“Certain components used in the Oculus Rift developer kit are no longer being manufactured, meaning they are no longer available to us for production. As a result, we don’t have the necessary materials to produce additional kits,” Oculus VR posted on Reddit.

“We still have some stock available, but we’re quickly running out. We are looking into alternate sources for the needed components, and we don’t yet have a timeline for when additional units will be available. We’ll be sure to keep everyone posted. As we sell out of inventory in each region we plan to suspend sales in that region until we are able to deliver new orders. Currently we are only selling and shipping to the following countries: United States, Canada, Countries in the European Union, Japan, South Korea, Australia, Switzerland and Norway.”

“We never expected to sell so many development kits and VR only made this much progress with the community’s support and enthusiasm. Even though we never wanted to sell out, it’s a good problem to have — Thank you!”

The developer kit is available at $300 and includes access to the Oculus SDK. The item has proved popular with developers and enthusiasts, with Hideo Kojima tweeting a picture of himself in the headset last week.

Via Industry Gamers

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Abertay University now home to largest teaching lab in Europe

PlayStationFirst adds 30 new PlayStation Vita development kits

Today PlayStationFirst opens the largest teaching lab in Europe at Abertay University in Dundee, offering students access to PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4 development kits, and 30 new PlayStation Vita development kits.

“The next generation of PlayStation-savvy developers are now in education and Abertay University is at the forefront of bringing young and talented developers to our platform,” said Dr Maria Stukoff, head of academic development at Sony Computer Entertainment Europe.

“It is these students who will influence the future of video games and we are delighted to work with Abertay University to make this a PlayStation training hub.”

As part of the PlayStationFirst programme students at the university learn how to use the Sony development kits, and currently 22 students are working with UK studio Futurlab co-founders James Marsden and Kirsty Rigden.

“Abertay is very proud to have the largest teaching laboratory of PlayStation consoles in Europe, and it’s something our students benefit hugely from,” added Abertay University’s Professor Louis Natanson.

“Having access to professional Sony development kits is incredibly exciting for students learning how to design and build games, and we’ve seen a real jump in the enthusiasm of our students since we created this lab. Students are routinely staying after class to work on their own projects, with many immediately aspiring to releasing their own games for PlayStation.”Via Industry Gamers

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