Sony's PlayStation 4 continues to dominate Microsoft's Xbox One and Nintendo's Switch.
As of December 31, the PlayStation 4 surpassed 91.6 million consoles sold. That puts Sony in the lead by a mile.
More specifically, Sony's PlayStation 4 sales are more than double that of the closest competition — the "closest competition," of course, being Microsoft's Xbox One.
Though Microsoft no longer reports sales numbers for its Xbox One console, estimates put the Xbox One somewhere in the realm of 30 - 60 million units sold.
During just the holiday season ending December 31, Sony sold over 5.6 million PlayStation 4 consoles. Doesn't sound like a lot? Even Nintendo's hot new console, the Switch, sold just 4.7 million units in its first four months.
And just one of Sony's big PlayStation 4 exclusives, "Marvel's Spider-Man," sold nearly 10 million copies since it launched in September.
The continued success of the PlayStation 4 is due to several different factors:
- The PlayStation 4 was the less expensive console when it launched in 2013, coming in at $100 less than Microsoft's Xbox One.
- The PlayStation 4 is an attractive box that easily fits into your home, and using it as more than a game console is a snap.
- A lineup of killer blockbuster games, from "Uncharted 4: A Thief's End" to "Horizon Zero Dawn" to "Bloodborne," made the PlayStation 4 a must-have console. All three of those games are only playable on PS4.
- The exclusives have gotten even better over time: Both "Spider-Man" and "God of War" arrived in 2018, and they were both excellent.
- Success begets success — the PlayStation 4 has overtaken the zeitgeist as "the" game console to own if you're going to buy a game console.
- There were incredible sales on the PlayStation 4 during the holiday season, with some retailers offering the console and a game for as low as $200.
Though Sony's exclusive game lineup isn't full of bangers in the coming months, an impressive array of major exclusives are currently in the works: "Ghost of Tsushima," "Death Stranding," and "The Last of Us: Part II" are all standouts coming exclusively to the PlayStation 4.
And if you're looking for a way to enjoy more 4K content on your new 4K TV, the PlayStation 4 Pro offers an upgrade path to even prettier games.
All of which is to say one thing: Sony's PlayStation 4 isn't showing any signs of slowing down.
