In typical Sony Computer Entertainment America fashion, the holiday season was quite nice to the games offshoot of the Japanese electronics giant, accounting for a whopping $2 billion over the holiday retail span that stretched from Thanksgiving to the New Year. For those looking for more fancy numbers and lots of happy PR speak, read on.



"Sony Computer Entertainment America continues to be the driving force behind the videogame industry's growth, momentum and success. As leaders, we shoulder the responsibility of the industry, and we take this responsibility very seriously," beamed Jack Tretton, SCEA's Executive VP. "The PlayStation market penetration rate continues to astound. We have sold more than 37 million units of the original PlayStation in North America, maintaining popularity nearly a decade after its introduction. PlayStation 2, at just three years old and with more than 24.5 million gamers, continues to set new marks for achievement, currently selling 37 percent better than the original PlayStation at the same point in the product lifecycle."



For those interested, nearly a million PS2s were sold during the month of November, and over two million were snagged during December. Almost a full third of the sales came from the recently released Combo Pack, which includes a PS2, the $40 Network Adaptor and a copy of ATV Offroad Fury 2, one of a seemingly gazillion online-enabled games available for the PS2. The whole shebang costs a mere $199, which is about $60 cheaper than if you'd bought the system, online-enabling accessory and game individually.



Sony also shipped it's 70 millionth PS2 recently, which means that beyond a shadow of a doubt… there is no shortage of PS2 hardware, but then you probably knew that. No official word yet on actual sales figures for the system, but it's a safe bet that they're a speck on the horizon from the viewpoint of the laggers in the console sales race.



What's perhaps most impressive, however, is that the original PlayStation, now cuted up in the form of the adorable PS one, managed to move almost 600,000 units over November and December bringing its install base to 37 million. This isn't entirely surprising, considering it goes for under $50 these days, and with the LCD screen still works wonderfully as a portable PlayStation. Sony loves to tout this figure, but it's not a bad one to bear repeating: with the current sales figures, there is a PlayStation or it's cuter PS one facelift in one out of every three homes in America.



We'll be sure to bring you more astounding numbers and jaw-dropping sales revelations as they break.