Sony PlayStation 4 closes-in on 100 million sales

Sony's PlayStation 4 games console is set to bust the 100 million sales figure this year after racking up sales of 5.6 million in the closing months of 2018, selling 18 million units in total during 2018.

A total of 91.6 million PlayStation 4 consoles have now been sold, making it the most popular console of its generation. However, it's still a long way behind the 155 million PlayStation 2 consoles Sony sold over that device's lifetime.

Sales of the Sony PlayStation 4 were driven this year by the popularity of God of War, while the PS4's back catalogue also includes such popular games as Uncharted 4, Bloodborne and The Last of Us 2. The popularity of the console platform has also ensured that the PS4 gets games popular on other platforms, such as PlayerUnknown's Battlegrounds (PUBG), launched in December, Just Cause 4 and Red Dead Redemption 2.

The enduring popularity of the PS4 since 2013 demonstrates the importance of a ‘good' launch.

While Microsoft's predecessor console, the Xbox 360 had outsold Sony's PlayStation 3, the company alienated potential customers before launch with an aggressive digital rights management (DRM) strategy combined with an emphasis not on games, but on pushing the Xbox as an entertainment hub.

In response, Sony focused on the PS4 as a games console, first and foremost, and also tied-up popular console exclusives to help drive sales once the machine was on the market.

And there may only be another year or so left in the current generation of consoles, with Microsoft lining up a new Xbox - the Xbox Two - for release in 2020, and Sony planning something similar.

However, the release schedule for the PS5 remains something of a mystery with Sony Interactive CEO john Kodera telling the Wall Street Journal in May 2018 that it won't be appearing until 2021 at the earliest, although some reports have suggested that it could be unveiled this year.