PS4 reaches sales estimates with three weeks to spare

18 Feb 2014

PlayStation 4 photo via Wikimedia Commons

Sony has confirmed that since being launched in November last year, the PlayStation 4 (PS4) games console has sold ahead of expectations by three weeks, with 5.3m units sold worldwide.

These sales figures have been announced despite the PS4 not being released in its native Japan yet with an expected release date of 22 February.

It has been a good few weeks for Sony, as it can also claim the first victory in the so-called ‘console wars’ when it announced last week it had sold twice as many PS4s than Xbox Ones in the US, with an estimated 4.2m consoles.

In the statement, Andrew House, Sony’s president and group CEO of its gaming division, said the company was now looking forward to the imminent Japanese launch, which should result in a significant jump in sales again.

“The PS4 system’s momentum just keeps growing stronger, and we are extremely grateful for the continued passion and support of PlayStation fans. (The date) 22 February sees the launch of PS4 in Japan, and I’m looking forward to Japanese fans sharing the excitement of the deep social capabilities and entertainment experiences only possible on PS4.”

Microsoft hasn’t released its sales figures from the Xbox One just yet, but the company can be happy in the knowledge that the Xbox brand still remains the strongest as a whole.

In January, 2.2m games, or 47pc of the market share, comprised Xbox 360 or Xbox One games.

Colm Gorey was a senior journalist with Silicon Republic

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