Sony PS3 Move Tops 1 Million SalesSony PS3 Move Tops 1 Million Sales

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Sony says it has sold more than 1 million motion-based Move controllers during the first 30 days the add-on for the PlayStation 3 video-game console was available in the United States.

The apparent high demand for the device could help re-energize sales for video-game industry, which has been in a slump for months. Microsoft is expected to also give the industry a kick Nov. 4, when it is scheduled to release the Kinect, motion-sensing technology for the Xbox 360.

Sony launched the highly anticipated Move Sept. 19 in the United States, and early indications are that the device has been widely accepted by PS3 users, according to Sony.

"Retail demand is incredibly strong and we're working hard to keep the product in stock," Jack Tretton chief executive of Sony Computer Entertainment America, said in a statement.

Keeping enough of the product on store shelves is proving difficult for Sony. Tretton told the Reuters news agency that the company does not expect to have supply in line with demand until February 2011. "We had to go back and increase production twice, we're absolutely maxed out right now," Tretton told Reuters.

Now that the Move appears to be heading for success, Sony is hoping game publishers and developers, who have been holding off on releasing games for the device, will jump on the Move bandwagon and start updating popular titles and release new games. Sony says there are a couple of dozen titles currently available for the Move.

Like the controller used in playing games on the Nintendo Wii, the Move is a handheld, wireless wand that a player uses to navigate through a game. Microsoft has taken the technology a step further with the controller-free Kinect, which uses a camera to track a player's body movements.

The addition of motion-sensing devices to the PS3 and Xbox 360 are expected to boost hardware and software sales through the end of the year. That's good news for the video-game industry, which saw another month of falling sales in September.

Sales of video-game software and equipment in physical stores dropped 8% year over year to $1.18 billion, according to The NPD Group. Sales of hardware, which includes the PS3, the Xbox 360, the Wii and portable consoles made by Sony and Nintendo, fell 19%. However, game accessory sales rose 13%, driven in large part by the release of the Move.

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