Both companies claim to be pleased with the console sales

Feb 13, 2012 07:31 GMT  ·  By

January 2012 was a very bad game for video games, according to the NPD Group, with the value of the industry declining by a whopping 34 percent when compared to the same period of last year, but major hardware makers Sony and Microsoft have released upbeat statements related to the results.

A statement from Microsoft says, “Historically, after several years in the console lifecycle there is a softening of demand, but Xbox 360 continues to defy that convention. Xbox 360 has found new ways to extend the lifecycle of the console by re-imagining entertainment and delivering new technologies like Kinect for Xbox 360, a new Xbox dashboard, and new entertainment content partners in 2011.”

The company has reason to celebrate because the Xbox 360 has managed to once again top the hardware chart and has sold 270,000 units, close to beating all other consoles combined.

Microsoft also says that it plans to keep its home console relevant during 2012 by launching more big exclusive titles while also expanding the range of content available via the Xbox Live service and more experiences that use the unique Kinect motion tracking system.

Patrick Seybold, who is a senior corporate communications director at Sony, stated, “Following a strong December at retail, PlayStation continued the momentum in January through multi-retailer promotions such as ‘Play Days’ where we saw a 2x lift over forecast in peripheral sales and solid results for the PlayStation 3.”

The company has not offered any retail numbers for the PlayStation 3 home console or for the PlayStation Portable handheld.

Sony also has high hopes for February, when the new Vita device gets launched on the United States and the European markets.

The device has not performed up to expectations in Japan, but Sony hopes that Western gamers will embrace it and drive its overall results up in the hardware space.