Uncharted 2 sales nearing 3M, MAG loads 500K

Sony's gaming segment didn't log a particularly spectacular performance in the US at retail during January. According to the NPD Group, the PlayStation 3 trailed behind the Xbox 360 and Wii in terms of hardware, selling just 276,900 units on the month, while the PSP barely eked past the 100,000 mark. Software, too, was limp in January, as Call of Duty: Modern Warfare 2 was the only PS3 title to crack the top 10.

However, Sony wasn't entirely without reasons to puff out its chest following NPD's report. On the PlayStation Blog, Sony Computer Entertainment president and CEO said that Naughty Dog's critically acclaimed PS3-exclusive Uncharted 2: Among Thieves has now sold nearly 3 million units worldwide. Uncharted 2 apparently enjoyed brisk holiday sales, considering the publisher touted the game's 1 million-unit milestone in mid-November.

Tretton also called out the performance of Zipper Interactive's well-received multiplayer-only PS3 exclusive MAG, which mobilized on January 26. More than 500,000 players are filling out the 256-player online matches, the executive said, with over 270,000 battles having been waged.

The solid sales numbers for two of its most recent exclusives come not long after Sony revised its total software sales estimates for the year. Leading off the month, Sony lowered its total PS3, PSP, and PlayStation 2 software sales estimates from 240 million to 200 million during its current fiscal year. At the time, Sony maintained its forecast of 13 million PS3s sold during the period, though it dropped PSP system expectations from 15 million to 10 million.