A statement released yesterday by SCEA vice president, Ian Jackson, reveals an enormous rise in Christmas sales for the PS3:

“Early internal data points to an increase of more than 130 percent of PS3 hardware sales for the holiday season – since Black Friday – and we’re also seeing a growth of nearly 40 percent in total PS3 hardware sales for the calendar year.”

Jackson also touts their belief that Sony provided “the best software line up in the industry” during a pivotal year for the PlayStation brand:

“We’ve had a solid holiday season and have delivered consistent growth throughout this year. Two thousand eight was a pivotal year for PlayStation with the best software line up in the industry, a dramatic expansion of PlayStation Network including the launches of the video delivery service and the beta of the PlayStation Home.“

“We remain confident this momentum will continue into the new year.”