Crikey. Andy House, president of Sony Computer Entertainment, announced at CES today that 4.2 million PlayStation 4 consoles were sold last year. That’s up from 2.1 million units, which Sony hit on December 3 – just two weeks after it launched the next-gen gaming system.
Microsoft, in comparison, revealed yesterday that it sold over 3 million Xbox One consoles across 13 countries in 2013. It followed a similar announcement on December 11, when the firm announced that “over 2 million” units had been bought in the first 18 days of public availability.
Sony appears to be taking an early lead in this latest console battle. It’s worth noting, however, that the firm launched the PlayStation 4 a week before the Xbox One. Sony’s system can now be bought in 53 markets, while the Xbox One is only available in 13.
Sony has a chance to stretch its lead next month when it launches the PlayStation 4 in Japan, which has traditionally been a strong market for its video game-related hardware.
4.2 million PS4s sold. Four. Point. Two. Million. #CES2014 pic.twitter.com/TXLA3FElQh
— PlayStation (@PlayStation) January 7, 2014
What will be of interest is the situation six months, or even 12 months down the line. Both systems were built to last the next six or seven years, but accruing a large user base now could help either company to establish their console as the preferred platform for this generation.
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House also used the CES keynote to announce PlayStation Now, a service that will allow players to stream older titles to their PlayStation 4, PlayStation 3, PlayStation Vita, tablet, smartphone or smart TV.
Livestreaming service Twitch, meanwhile, announced today that 20 percent of its broadcasters between December 23, 2013 and January 3, 2014 were PlayStation 4 owners.
Header image credit: Robyn Beck/AFP/Getty Images
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