Global crisis plays to PS3 strengths - Sony

Sony America marketeer Peter Dille believes the credit crunch "plays right into" the strengths of the PS3, because, economically, the console represents "great value" and will be the "centrepiece of your entertainment for the next 10 years".

"I think when people start doing the apples-to-apples comparison, and see what PS3 can do, and see the value of Blu-ray, and what free online and free Wi-Fi with a hard drive in every box really means, it resonates," Dille told GameDaily. "I think people are gravitating to it and we've got a lot of momentum with the launch of Killzone 2 - we're seeing a nice upsurge in our business.

"We also have to work hard to gain our consumers' trust and make them comfortable that when they buy a PS3, it's going to stand the test of time. The fact of the matter is we're the only console manufacturer that's ever launched a product that's had a 10-year life-cycle. And we've done that now not once, but twice.

Dille explained that Sony had always pursued a "a profit goal" with PlayStation 3, whereas the competition had "a market share goal" based around a "very aggressive pricing strategy" that cost "a lot of money".

That profit goal resulted in PS3 selling 276,000 units in February across the US, compared with 391,000 Xbox 360 sales. Meanwhile, the market-leading Wii managed a whopping 753,000 sales.