It"s been four years since Sony unleashed the PlayStation 4 on the masses, and now the popular console is rapidly approaching sales numbers that the PlayStation 3 achieved in 10 years.
The PlayStation 4, along with its Slim and Pro variants, has now sold more than 70 million units as of December 3, Sony Interactive Entertainment has revealed. In addition, SIE revealed that PlayStation VR has sold more than 2 million units as of the same date.
By comparison, the PlayStation 3, which launched late in 2006, has sold almost 84 million units over its lifetime.
The PS4 has been good for software sales as well, with more than 617.8 million copies of games sold through the PlayStation Store and retail shops. PSVR has had 150 games released for it, with more than 12.2 million copies sold through the same distribution channels.
“We are delighted that so many people are enjoying the unique entertainment proposition of PlayStation 4 and that an emerging technology like PlayStation VR continues to gain traction,” Andrew House, Chairman of Sony Interactive Entertainment, said in a statement. “I cannot thank our fans and partners enough. Their support, since the launch of very first [sic] PlayStation in 1994, has helped to make PlayStation one of the biggest console gaming network [sic] in the world. We will continue to work closely with partners to maintain this momentum and remain steadfast in making PS4 the best place to play.”
How the console officially stacks up against rival Xbox One is unknown. After PlayStation 4 showed strong success against Microsoft"s gaming device, the company stopped releasing official sales numbers. In the United States, NPD Group has reported that Xbox One has regularly been beating Sony"s console over the last few months, but that the PS4 still had a lead in overall sales. Worldwide, though, Sony seems to continue to have the upper hand, especially with unsurprisingly strong sales in Japan.
It didn"t help that Microsoft botched the launch of Xbox One with some inexplicable management decisions, such as the unit needing to be always on, and the Kinect motion sensor initially being bundled with it. While the newly launched Xbox One X may be the more powerful console and the better unit now overall, analysts doubt that Microsoft will ever be able to overcome the lead that the PS4 has built along the way.
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