Sony has spent much of 2009 not only slimming down it’s flagship console the PlayStation3 in both size and price, but ratcheting up their virtual world hosted on said platform: Home. And while not exactly first on the scene with lower prices, or a slimmed down version of it’s previous self, Sony’s work has been rewarded, especially this past holiday season. At yesterday’s presentation at the Consumer Electronics Show held this year in Las Vegas, NV, Sony revealed sales numbers for this past holiday season. During the traditional consumerfest that occurs between the American Thanksgiving holiday and Christmas, Sony moved nearly 4 million PS3 consoles worldwide. To put this in perspective, looking at year-over-year numbers, Sony increased sales by 75 percent.
At the end of the day, this upswing in sales, combined with increased efforts to make ‘Home’ a serious part of the package bodes extremely well for Sony. As with size and price, Sony’s Home hasn’t exactly lived up to the hype. It’s already been through a few iterations, but it seems as though Sony might very well now be on the right path. They recently drove the “we’re serious about Home, MMO’s, and microtransactions” flag into the ground with the launch of Sodium One. Early reports have indicated that players have taken to Sodium One, which again, bodes well for Sony. They’ve now got an attraction within Home that has not only generated a bit of press, but is also getting the people through the door.
Not coincidentally, VEEMEE, an independent creator of branded and original content for platforms and virtual worlds, yesterday launched The London Pub for PS3 Home users. Priced at €4.99 the virtual watering hole and hangout features a mulit-player darts game, a roaring open fire to chat by, comedic beer taps, crank phone calls, and hand dryers that don’t dry your hands. Kirk Ewing, Creative Director at VEEMEE comments, “It’s always nice to inject a bit of humor into the games industry. In a virtual pub you can get all the banter but obviously none of the booze. Also offering a real world tie-in, VEEMEE has partnered with Unicorn, makers of fine dartboards, and will be giving away 30 real Eclipse Pro Dartboards within the first 30 days of the London Pub’s opening, and tops the pub darts leader board on PlayStation Home.
Late last year at Sodium One’s introduction, Sony rolled out some Home user numbers, touting a decent 10 million users. With a lot of wrapping paper now making it’s way to the incinerator, there’s sure to be a whole new onslaught of Home users, as they plug-in, fire-up, and (hopefully for Sony) start enjoying home so much that they’re ready to make a microtransaction. Or two. Or 10 million.
