Figures for the Global Console shipment chart suggest that PlayStation 4 sales are about to beat the Nintendo Wii’s record for the time needed to reach 100 million units sold. PS4 sales are currently flowing in at around the same rate as those for the PlayStation 2, what was then the most successful console of the time. The PS2’s records were eventually topped by the Wii, and with over 94 million units sold since late 2013, the PS4 is now set to break the record again.
The sales figures and chart come via Daniel Ahmad, a video games analyst, and they illustrate just how much life is still kicking in the PS4, despite the rumors swirling about a PS5 announcement in 2020. The chart shows the latest figures up to December 31, 2018, and reveal that within its first year of release, the PS4 had already reached roughly 20 million units sold. Two years on, the console had managed to shift somewhere in the region of 37 million, and it may very well break the 100 million units mark this year. Daniel Ahmad puts the PS4’s latest units sold figure at 92.4 million units.
That figure means the PS4 is just slightly behind the number of units of the Wii sold in the same time frame. But while sales of the Wii appear to plateau around that time, the PS4’s projected sales look set to rise steadily, almost putting it on the same course of the figures for the PS2’s sales.
It’s also worth mentioning that in just under two years of sales, the numbers for the Switch suggest that Nintendo’s console could follow a similar trajectory as the Wii. After a slight dip in the units sold, Switch sales figures show it matching the figures for the Wii, and perhaps even rising above it.
The numbers for the PS4 may not shock many of you. After an incredibly successful 2018 that saw Sony post record profits alongside a handful of standout titles in God of War, Marvel’s Spider-Man, and more, it seems that even people are looking to get in on the console’s impressive catalog of exclusives.
Updated Global Console Shipment chart as of Dec 31st 2018.
PS4 has sold in 94.2m units. When launch aligned the console is on track to reach 100m faster than Wii and in roughly the same timeframe as PS2.
Extremely impressive performance over the lifecycle. pic.twitter.com/ZKnGUPDBpO
— Daniel Ahmad (@ZhugeEX) February 1, 2019
