NPD's December 2008 survey results were released last week, and even combining Sony's PS2 and PS3 sales for the month (at 410,000 units and 726,000 units respectively), the company didn't touch the other consoles's sales, with the Xbox 360 selling 1.44 million units and the Wii in the clear lead at 2.15 million units. Sony also lagged far behind in game sales as well, with only one appearance in the top 10 for the month (Call of Duty: World at War), coming in at number nine. Little Big Planet, on which the company seemed to hinge many hopes for the PS3 console, didn't even make the list.

Sony also lagged in numbers for annual game sales, with a single appearance on that list as well. Crave writer Matt Hickey refers to Hirai's claims as "hubris" but he may as well have gone on to say delusional. that Wedbush Morgan analyst Michael Pachter believes that the PS3's high price is "killing Sony" and needed a price cut to make the console competitive.