Sony said was keeping to its target to sell 15 million PlayStation 3 game machines in the year to end-March, even as the on going debt crisis grips Europe, one of Sony’s most important markets.
Andrew House, who took over as head of Sony Computer Entertainment, the group’s video games business, less than four months ago, told reporters that PS3 sales were, if anything, slightly ahead of target.
He declined to give a unit sales estimate for the PlayStation Vita, the new handheld games device, which launches in Japan on Saturday and reaches U.S. stores in late-February.
The Vita has sold out in advance bookings in Japan, but is likely to face a tougher challenge in the United States and Europe, partly due to the overall gloom of the job market.
Sony Computer Entertainment made its first profit in five years in the 12 months to March 2011, as it managed to squeeze PS3 production costs, boosting profits for the whole company.
House said the speed at which Sony could turn Vita hardware sales profitable would depend on currency rates. S
