At Sony's recently-concluded mid-term corporate strategy meeting, company chairman and CEO Howard Stringer told investors that Sony would restore profitability to its games segment this year, on the strength of its three platforms' install bases.
"With 50 million users of networked-enabled PSPs and PS3s worldwide, we have an enormous global install base upon which we can build networked services. With the inclusion of our Blu-ray player, Wi-Fi and hard drive, every PS3... I am confident that the PS3 is the networked home entertainment server of the future - but it is available today."
Though PS2 sales had recently shown a decline in the console's ninth year on the market, Stringer also made a point of praising its continuing performance, dropping more juicy numbers on its total install base:
"[PS2] remains tremendously popular," Stringer said. "With an install base of 130 million units worldwide and nearly 10,000 titles available, PS2's popularity continues to contribute to our success... it is also extremely profitable. PS2 is the true workhorse of the PlayStation family."
Interestingly (though perhaps unsurprisingly), Stringer discussed the PS3 as if it were a platform in its infancy, effusing on its "exciting introduction," and noting that the platform's key titles "begin to define PlayStation 3 gaming experience."