Sony's PlayStation division sales up 64% to $4.2 billion

Massive increase in operating profit due to launch of PlayStation 4 console.

Sony's Game segment - the part of the company responsible for the PlayStation business - recorded a 64 percent increase in sales during the third quarter to $4.2 billion.

Operating income skyrocketed almost 300 percent to $172 million compared to the same period last year.

Sony did not break down units sales, instead it noted that it had sold 7.8 million PS4 and PS3 systems combined during the third quarter and 2 million combined PSP and PS Vita systems.

Game software sales topped 126 million, which includes packaged and digital units.

The success of the PlayStation 4 had a wider impact on the whole business, with Sony Corp recording quarterly sales of $22.9 billion and net profits of $257 million.

The company had sold 2.1 million PS4 units less than a month after release, with that number rising to 4.2 million at the start of this year.

Last week UK managing director Fergal Gara told VG 247 he still wasn't happy with the amount of stock allocated to the region, and he's pushing to get more PlayStation 4 units on sale to meet demand.