The PlayStation 4 will go on to sell more than 100 million units worldwide before its lifecycle is over, according to a new report from DFC Intelligence. As reported by MCV, the PS4 would become the sixth platform in gaming history to reach that mark.
This would make it the 6th gaming console in history to reach the lofty mark, and it would also surpass its predecessor, as PlayStation 3 only managed to sell about 85-90 million (as did the Xbox 360). The reigning king is the incomparable PS2, which ended up selling a whopping 150 million units; though some have compared the PS4 to the PS2, it’s very unlikely PS2’s record will ever fall.
As of January 2016, the PS4 had sold nearly 36 million systems worldwide following its launch in November 2013. According to a February 2015 report from Strategy Analytics, the console is “on path to reproduce the success of the PlayStation 2 and Nintendo Wii.”
Additionally, the report says PS4 will hit 80 million by the end of 2019, which would outpace Xbox One sales by a very significant 40 percent. The arrival of PlayStation VR in 2016 could also “help the PS4 expand its audience over the next few years.” Perhaps unsurprisingly, the report says digital game sales will continue to surge in the coming years, hitting $20 billion in annual revenue by 2019. Well, duh.
Microsoft has not announced a sales figure for the Xbox One. But an unverified report pegged the number to be 18 million or more. The Wii U, meanwhile, has sold more than 12 million systems.
Additionally, the DFC report said Nintendo remains a “major player” to watch in the future. The company plans to startofficially discussing its mysterious NX console later this year. The system is rumored to be a console/mobile hybrid that uses “industry-leading technology.”
