Executives at Sony's games division may not be carried away by last month's PlayStation 3 sales data but they could be forgiven a wry smile at the first good news for many years.
After bleeding red ink for seven consecutive quarters, the performance of the PS3 in November could prove the catalyst for a strong holiday season for Sony Computer Entertainment.
For the first time since its launch, sales of the PS3 last month surpassed those of Nintendo's Wii in Japan, primarily because Sony introduced a 40-gigabyte model for ¥40,000 (€247) and slashed prices on older models.
Analysts have lauded the price cut and say PS3 sales will be strong this Christmas - although not as strong as Nintendo's.
"The PS3 is gathering momentum but Wii will remain the winner this Christmas because Sony took too long to cut prices," says one analyst at an investment bank in Tokyo. "But the Sony games strategy is finally working and we haven't seen that in the past two to three years."
Slower-than-expected Wii sales in Japan have provided the chief boost for the PS3. Though sales in the US and Europe are still strong, Wii sales have started to taper off in Japan.
Yet desperate US and UK parents wishing to buy a Nintendo Wii console for their children this Christmas will find that Amazon.com has run out of stock and the cheapest available Wii, sold by a third party, is a staggering $525.99 (€357.75) - more than double the retail price of $250. In contrast, PlayStation 3 can be shipped immediately for the relatively low price of $399.99 (€272).
The evidence seems to suggest the Wii will again emerge triumphant at Christmas despite the fact that PS3 sales have recently rebounded thanks to a price cut.
