Sony Computer Entertainment has revealed the latest PlayStation 4 console retail figures and the new gen machine continues to smash all previous hardware sales records. With just over a year since the PS4 console’s release, Sony has managed to shift over 18.5 million units in 123 countries and regions worldwide as of January 4 2015. Those figures were boosted in part by strong retail sales during the holiday season in 2014 during which Sony shipped out just over 4 million of the machines.
As a result, Sony’s games related services are also doing well, with the company announcing that almost 11 million subscribers are now taking advantage of the benefits and features available on the PlayStation Plus membership service, while millions of PlayStation 4 owners also regularly take part in online multiplayer gaming through PS Plus.
In a press release on the Australian PlayStation Blog, Andrew House, President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc was qouted as saying “We are absolutely delighted that so many customers around the globe have continued to select PS4 as their console of choice throughout this holiday season, We will continue to reinforce and deliver additional value on PlayStation 4 as the best place to play, by bringing even more exciting content and by enriching our wide array of service offerings.”
In the same vein, the company also revealed that holiday season software retail sales had topped 17.8 million globally thanks to a strong performance from both disc copies and digital downloads. While the PS4 continues to surpass all expectations, Sony’s PlayStation Network service has been shut down in attacks by hackers a few times, the most recent time being over Christmas and Boxing day when some users didn’t have access to the service, -tarnishing the company’s performance somewhat.
The company has now also expanded it’s PlayStation Now service to include a subscription based programme that will give PS4 owners access to over 100 PlayStation 3 games. With so many people adopting the flagship PlayStation 4 console, and additional services, Sony will have to try and ensure events like that do not keep happening regularly.
Overall, the PlayStation 4 console’s strong performance and popularity has lifted Sony out of the financial trouble it was in until only just recently, so these numbers are really good news for those who are fans of the Brand and its products. We are happy to see that the PlayStation 4 community continues to grow bigger still!
