Sony Computer Entertainment America (SCEA) has announced that 1 million PS3 units were sent out in North America in the 6 weeks after launch, breaking the record set by PS2.

SCEA did not, however, reveal the number of units sold through to consumers, but counteracted rumours that there is an unsold excess in some areas by commenting that "PS3 has been selling out at retail outlets across North America since the console's November 17 launch".

SCEA boss Jack Tretton went on to say, "The fact that we were able to reach the 1 million mark faster than our top-selling platform, PS2, further validates the strength of the PlayStation brand and our belief that consumers are ready to experience true high-definition gaming".

All this good news doesn’t hide the fact that Sony originally claimed it would ship 2 million PS3 units to North America and Japan by the end of 2006. Manufacturing problems have blighted the PS3 leading to supply issues.

The number of PS3s shipped to Japan so far is not known, but it's thought that about 800,000 were available at launch.

Added to this, in an announcenemt at a keynote SCEA's senior vice president of marketing, Peter Dille set Sony’s targets for the coming few months. He claimed that Sony will have shipped over 6 million units worldwide by the end of march.

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