Monday Sony Computer Entertainment announced that shipments of its PlayStation game console have exceeded 20 million units, as of August 20.

　　The breakdown is as follows: In Japan, Sony has sold 8.5 million units; in North America, 6.4 million units; and in Europe 5.1 million.

　　Additionally, SCEA announced that it is increasing the monthly production output to 2 million systems a month, from the 1.5 that they produce a month currently. This is in contrast to Nintendo's 1 million N64's a month.

　　Kaz Hirai, SCEA's chief operating officer, said in a statement, "As we head into the busiest season for the video game industry, I am delighted to provide detailed data to substantiate the worldwide leadership position that the PlayStation video game system maintains. I am also happy to release information on PlayStation's phenomenal growth in North America since the system's launch in September 1995, including sell-in and sell-through figures."

　　Software for the system has also been selling at an increased rate. As of August 20, 135 million units of PlayStation software had been shipped worldwide. Japan leads that pack with 70 million software units; the US with 35 million software units; and Europe with 30 million software units.

　　"At the current pace of growth running at about 2.5 times that of last year, PlayStation is again at the heart of home entertainment in America. This holiday season will be the best ever for PlayStation," said Jack Tretton, SCEA vice president of sales.