Now in its fourth generation, the PlayStation business is still going strong. Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. has revealed that the last three gaming machines that the company has released--the PlayStation 3 console in 2006, the PlayStation Vita portable in 2012 and the PlayStation 4 console in November 2013--have a combined sales of more than 100 million units worldwide.
Sony announced this fact in a recent video intended for its partners in its PlayStation business. The video also implies that the company is expecting for the steady sales of PlayStation machines to continue, eventually surpassing 120 million sold. The video is to entice companies to become partners to create officially licensed products.
Last we heard from Sony, the PlayStation 3 had sold 80 million consoles worldwide since launch in 2006, and the PlayStation 4 has sold 7 million since its launch end of last year. The PlayStation Vita has hit 8 million sold since it appeared in 2012, according to VGChartz. Using these figures, one reaches a total of 95 million. So Sony may soon update these numbers to reflect more PS3s and PS4s have been sold. The company will likely make an announcement when PlayStation 4 reaches the 10 million milestone.
When compared to other companies, Sony is holding its own. Xbox 360 has sold a similar 80 million worldwide like PlayStation 3. Official numbers point to Xbox One only selling 5 million units. And since Microsoft does not have a portable platform, Sony gets the win against Microsoft.
The situation is different when compared to Nintendo. Last generation's Wii has sold more than 100 million units. The company's current handheld generation, the Nintendo 3DS and Nintendo 2DS, have hit 45 million portables according to VGChartz. And the current Wii U has only hit the 6 million mark. That is a total of 151 million machines, surpassing Sony's 100 million number handily.
With the introduction of the PlayStation TV settop box later this year and Bravia televisions being released now, that are compatible with the PlayStation Now streaming game service, not to mention the holiday sales of the PlayStation 3 and PlayStation 4, the size of PlayStation nation should grow significantly the end of the year.
The Official Licensing video was posted on YouTube by PlayStation Japan.
