Although Sony managed to meet its hardware sales targets in 2008, the company's president Jack Tretton described it as a "stormy" fiscal year and hoped that they will do better from now on.
"Hopefully last year is as bad as it gets. I think all indicators are that 2009 is going better than 2008," Tretton said. "In 2008, we had a 38 per cent increase in sales and we hit our ten million-units-worldwide goal for PS3 sales... At the worst possible time, if you're hitting numbers and delivering success... my hope is that as our production efficiencies improve and more great games come to market, the horizon has got to be better for 2009 and 2010."
"It's like being out there in a storm - it does cause you to question your conviction, and tie yourself to the mast and weather the storm," he continued. "We have hit a very challenging period of trying to sell future technology, a high-end device, but is on the high-end retail pricing spectrum, at a time when people's disposable income is limited. But I think the fact we were successful in that says people are getting the message, that you get tremendous value when you buy a PlayStation product. Yes there are cheaper machines out there, but not ones that deliver the degree of value for the money that ours does."
