Sony is labelling 2008 as a year of ‘continued momentum’ in North America as NPD stats showed that total PS3 hardware sales for the territory were up 40 per cent on 2007, with software sales climbing 115 per cent year-on-year.

However, PS3’s December sales of 726,000 units, up an impressive 92 per cent on the month before were down on the same month in 2007 where the machine shifted 798,000 units. The console also sold six million software units in the month.

The PSP, written off by so many for so long, continues to prove that its viability as a platform remains strong with its one million plus hardware sales in December representing a 143 per cent increase on the console’s November sales.

There were also monthly gains for PS2, which saw December hardware sales climb 99 per cent from November and software sales jump 124 per cent.

In total, the PlayStation brand generated $6.4bn in revenue in the territory in 2008.

“The PlayStation brand has had a solid calendar year with total PS3 hardware sales up 40 per cent and total PS3 software sales up 115 per cent,” SCEA’s senior VP of marketing and PSN Peter Dille stated.

“We remain confident in our momentum into 2009 as we continue to deliver to our consumers the best entertainment content and technology out there. And we delivered on that promise this past year with one of the best software line-ups in the industry, a dramatically expanded PlayStation Network with the launch of the video delivery service and the beta of PlayStation Home, as well as extended hardware offerings with the PSP 3000 and Uncharted 160GB PS3 bundle.

“We also hit a remarkable milestone for the PlayStation 2 platform in North America with 50 million units sold. It’s truly an amazing testament to the power and legacy of our brand.”