Sony PS3 sales in line with targets

By Kiyoshi Takenaka

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Sony Corp's video game chief told Reuters on Wednesday that sales of its PlayStation 3 console have been in line with company targets for this fiscal year but aims to beat those projections.

"Weekly sales have steadily been clearing our expectations since the start of the year. We now have a strong lineup of software," Sony Computer Entertainment Chief Executive Kazuo Hirai said in an interview at the E3 video game trade show.

The Japanese electronics and entertainment conglomerate aims to sell 10 million PS3 units this business year. Sony's PS3 sales totaled 9.24 million units in the previous business year ended March 31, missing the company's original estimate of 11 million units, as a high price and scarcity of strong game titles underwhelmed potential customers.

Sony, however, has cut console prices and saw launches of some compelling titles, including Konami Corp's "Metal Gear Solid 4" military stealth-action game, which is exclusive for the Sony machine.

Sony is waging a three-way battle with Microsoft Corp and Nintendo Co Ltd in the global video game industry.

Sony ruled the video game industry for about a decade beginning in the mid-1990s with its original PlayStation and PlayStation 2.

In the current console cycle, Sony has found itself in an unfamiliar position, trailing Nintendo's Wii and competing neck and neck with Microsoft's Xbox 360 for second place in monthly sales in the United States.

Hirai said Sony Computer Entertainment will take steps this year to broaden PS3's reach beyond the console with an online community for gamers and services such as a video and game download feature.

The Sony PlayStation boss said the offerings will eventually lead to stronger long-term sales of the console.

"We need to focus on boosting the appeal of the PS3's interactive entertainment world by new services and content. That should help drive the console sales in the coming years," Hirai said.

ENTERTAINMENT HUB

As part of that effort, Sony launched a PS3-based video delivery service in the U.S. on Tuesday, taking aim at a stronghold of Microsoft's Xbox Live platform.

Equipped with a Blu-ray high-definition DVD player and the Cell microchip, which is dubbed a "supercomputer on a chip," the PS3 could be well positioned to become an entertainment hub in the living room.

It's a similar strategy to Microsoft, which declared on Monday that its Xbox 360 will sell better than the PS3 over the lifetime of the machines.

Hirai said such comparisons make little sense since Sony expects the PS3 to be around long after the Xbox 360 has disappeared.