20 million registered PSN accounts exceed Xbox Live accounts

In a press release Wednesday (read below), Sony announces that in just two years and three months more than 20 million PSN accounts have been registered worldwide on the PlayStation 3. That's three million more than registered Xbox Live accounts. Microsoft's public relations firm, Edelman, informed me "There are more than 17 million Xbox LIVE members worldwide."

The PlayStation Network is free to access, play, and download a variety of media content while Xbox Live comes at a price. Is there a correlation here? We think so.

REGISTERED ACCOUNTS ON PLAYSTATION(r)NETWORK EXCEED 20 MILLION WORLDWIDE

To continue reading, register here and become an Insider. You'll get free access to premium content from CIO, Computerworld, CSO, InfoWorld, and Network World. See more Insider content or sign in.

In a press release Wednesday (read below), Sony announces that in just two years and three months more than 20 million PSN accounts have been registered worldwide on the PlayStation 3. That's three million more than registered Xbox Live accounts. Microsoft's public relations firm, Edelman, informed me "There are more than 17 million Xbox LIVE members worldwide."

The PlayStation Network is free to access, play, and download a variety of media content while Xbox Live comes at a price. Is there a correlation here? We think so.

REGISTERED ACCOUNTS ON PLAYSTATION(r)NETWORK EXCEED 20 MILLION WORLDWIDE

Remarkable Milestone Achieved in Only 2 Years and 3 Months Since Its Launch on November 11, 2006

Tokyo, February 25, 2008 - Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. (SCEI) today announced that the cumulative number of registered accounts on PlayStation Network worldwide has exceeded 20 million as of February 20, 2009. The registered accounts on PlayStation Network reached 5million in 1 year and 2 months, 10 million in 1 year and 8 months, and exceeded 20 million in only 2 years and 3 months from the service launch on November 11, 2006*1. The number of users connected to PlayStation Network is ever growing, thus successfully building a robust network business platform.

PlayStation Network is a free to access network service for PLAYSTATION 3 (PS3) computer entertainment system and PSP (PlayStation Portable) handheld entertainment system, that has more than 70 million sell-in units*2 around the world both platforms combined. Directly accessible from PS3, PSP or PC, users are able to enjoy a broad range of on-line content and services, including on-line gaming, video chat and text messaging with other PS3 users on-line, as well as many games and video content downloadable from PlayStation Store. Since its launch, PlayStation Network has expanded its services to over 55 countries and regions around the globe, gaining strong support from users for its breadth of entertainment content available for both PS3 and PSP systems in addition to its free to use basic features and services.

To offer more fun and excitement to users, PlayStation Network is continually enhancing gaming experience through online game features such as online battle and team play, as well as adding more and more downloadable game items. More than 600 titles incorporated with online features have been released for the PS3 system worldwide, including Resistance: Fall of Man, Gran Turismo 5 Prologue and LittleBigPlanet from SCE.

PlayStation Store offers more than 14,500 diverse digital content, ranging from exclusive on-line games, downloadable version of UMD titles, game demos and items, and titles from "Game Archive," through which legendary and popular titles from the original PlayStation are made playable on PS3 and PSP, to more than 5,900 movies and TV episodes that are available through Video Delivery Service*3 that started in the United States in July 2008. To date, more than 380 million pieces of content*4 have been downloaded, with total sales exceeding 180 million US dollars*5, and the business scale is rapidly expanding.

For more gaming news, visit GamePro. Story copyright GamePro Media.