Sony Computer Entertainment America will celebrate the first birthday of its PlayStation 3 gaming console this week.

The Japanese electronics giant recently introduced new hardware models and pricing, and claimed to be seeing strong sales momentum as a result.

PS3 sales have increased by 192 per cent at the top 10 retailers in North America, according to Sony.

The company also recently launched the biggest PS3 advertising campaign to date, pitching the benefits of Blu-ray and the PlayStation Network.

"The inclusion of the Blu-ray drive in PS3 reflects Sony's absolute commitment to the format," said Howard Stringer, chairman and chief executive at Sony Corporation.

"We firmly believe that Blu-ray is the best high-definition format for consumers, providing superior capacity, next-generation games, more hit movie titles and the best possible picture and sound quality."

In its first year, more than 200 software titles have been released for PS3 and more than 60 million pieces of content have been downloaded from PlayStation Network worldwide.

"When we designed PS3 our goal was to introduce a system so technically advanced that it could stand the test of time and take the industry in a whole new direction, which for PS3 was high-definition entertainment," said Jack Tretton, president and chief executive at SCEA.