FOSTER CITY, Calif., June 26 -- Sony Corp. reported Wednesday that sales of its PlayStation game console have more than tripled since it dropped the price last month in U.S. stores from $300 to $200. Sony said its videogame player is outperforming sales of the Sega Saturn system, which is also priced at $200, by a 4-to-1 ratio.
Prior to cutting the price of the 32-bit player, Sony reported it had sold 1.2 million of PlayStations in North America and 5 million worldwide. It did not disclose Wednesday how many additional machines it has sold. Jim Whims, executive vice president of Sony Computer Entertainment America, said, 'Typically, the summer months are a quiet season but the reaction from consumers has been dramatic. What we are experiencing is Christmas in June.' Roger Goddu, president of the Toys R Us chain, said his outlets are selling four times as many of the PlayStations and have increased software sales. 'We are ecstatic about the acceleration of PlayStation sales since the price decrease,' he said. '$199 finally positions a new platform at a price point which is mass/consumer-related.' Sony said sales of its sports products have grown significantly with revenues of 'NHL Face Off' increasing 65 percent, 'NFL GameDay' up 85 percent and 'NBA Shoot Out' gaining 250 percent. Sony cut the price on May 16, six weeks after Sega reduced its price from $350 to $300. Sega then reduced the Saturn price to $200 on May 17. Both machines, powered by 32-bit chips, will face competition in September when Nintendo releases its Nintendo 64 player, initially priced at $250. Nintendo 64 is equipped with three-dimensional arcade- style graphics and speed, with the power of 10 Intel Corp. Pentiums.
