PlayStation 2 Sales Decreased in U.S. in 2003

Sony Computer Entertainment Inc., through Sony Corp., reported a decrease in sales of PlayStation 2 units in the U.S. for the 2003 fiscal year (ending March 31). Sales of the game console increased in Europe and Japan for the same period. Worldwide, PlayStation 2 hardware shipments decreased from 22.52 million units to 20.10 million. However, software shipments for the system worldwide increased by 32 million to reach 222 million. A 0.9% decrease in sales was partially blamed on “outsourcing of PS 2 game console production to third parties in China,” according to the report. But the company reported an annual increase of 4.7% in sales to outside customers.