Sony continues to see success with the PlayStation 4. The company announced new worldwide sell-through milestones Monday for both the console and the PlayStation Plus premium service.
The PlayStation 4 console has sold 18.5 million units worldwide as of January 4, according to the Sony Japan press release (via Reuters ). The console sold 4.1 million units during the holiday shopping period between November 23, 2014 and January 3, 2015.
By comparison, the company reported console sales of 3.3 million between July and October 2014 for a worldwide total of 13.5 million. That means the company sold approximately 900,000 PS4s between November 1 and November 22, 2014 to bring the total sales for the final three months of the year to around five million worldwide.
Meanwhile, PlayStation Plus subscriptions continue to grow along with the console sales. This should be expected, since the $50 a year premium service is now mandatory to play most online multiplayer games on the console. Still, there are now 10.9 million subscribers to PS Plus as of January 2. That’s approximately the same percentage of consoles to service subscribers as Microsoft enjoys with its Xbox consoles and Xbox Live Gold.
Speaking of which, the last total Xbox One worldwide numbers we heard from Microsoft was in November. The company reported that console was near 10 million in sales and had surpassed the PS4 in monthly sales figures, at least in North America. There’s been no update on the total number of Xbox Ones sold for Microsoft’s fourth quarter, but the company’s next financial earnings call is currently scheduled for January 26. Expect an announcement by then.
This news appears to show that reports of console gaming’s demise has been greatly exaggerated. The PlayStation 4 is selling faster than the PlayStation 3. The Xbox One is selling well too, just not at the same level as the competition. Sales are strong in North America and the United Kingdom, but the console’s performance in the rest of Europe and Japan can only be described as lackluster.
2015 will be an important year for both Sony and Microsoft, as the trickle of games still being developed for the PS3 and Xbox 360 come to a stop. Gamers will be looking for something new and shiny, and it’s entirely possible we will see the first permanent price drop by the time the 2015 holiday shopping season for the PS4 and Xbox One. Both consoles will also be bringing out their heavy hitting exclusives like Uncharted 4 and Halo 5 .
The console wars are just getting started. What do you think of them so far?
[Image via PlayStation ]