PS3 Q1 2011 sales are down

Sony sold 600,000 fewer PlayStation 3s between April and June this year (Q1 FY2011) than in the same period in 2010.

PS3 sales for the three months were 1.8 million. PS3 lifetime sales, worldwide, now stand at 51.8 million.

PS3 game sales, on the other hand, rose by 1.3 million to 26.1 million.

PSP hardware sales rose from 1.2 million to 1.8 million.

PS2 hardware sales dropped from 1.6 million to 1.4 million.

In money terms, Sony suffered a net loss of ¥15.5 billion ($191 million). This time last year, Sony made a profit of ¥25.7 billion.

But last year there was no devastating Japanese earthquake and tsunami, and that's what Sony singled out as the biggest contributor to loss.

The April PlayStation Network hack meant online services being temporarily shut down and "related expenses such as security enhancements were recorded". But PSN usage has almost entirely bounced back, the company added, stating that, "Most recently, user logins to the PlayStation Network in North America have returned to a similar level as before the cyber attacks."

Despite a drop in PS3 numbers, Sony still expects PS3 to sell more consoles this financial year than last. One quarter down, three quarters to go.