This console generation is unlike any that has come before it. Last cycle’s Xbox 360 from Microsoft and PlayStation 3 from Sony were neck and neck throughout the years, and lifetime sales ended up within a couple million units of each other by all counts. Then you had the Nintendo Wii, which blew them both away and topped 100 million units. But this time around it’s a completely different story. Nintendo’s Wii U is a complete disaster that’s already on its way out, and PS4 sales have nearly doubled Xbox One sales thanks in large part to a price gap and huge PR missteps early on.
Now, Sony has announced new sales numbers for its popular PlayStation 4 console and things aren’t looking good at all for Microsoft.
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Microsoft’s last update on Xbox One sales came back in January when the company said that global sales of its newest video game console had reached 19 million units. That’s no small feat considering the console’s rocky start, but Sony continued to eclipse its top rival with the fan favorite PlayStation 4.
On Thursday, Sony issued a press release to announce that the PS4 has reached a new milestone: 40 million units sold. That means the company moved 5 million consoles in less than five months, since the tally was 35 million back in early January.
“We are truly grateful for the enormous support from our fans and partners across the globe, which helped us achieve this significant milestone in such a short span of time,” Sony Interactive Entertainment CEO Andrew House said. “We will strive to deliver even more exciting gaming experiences to our users, further driving the momentum and accelerating the expansion of the PS4 platform and its business this fiscal year by offering an unparalleled line-up of games, bringing our virtual reality system, PlayStation VR, to market and providing ground-breaking features and network services.”
Sony is expected to maintain its momentum this year with an updated version of the PlayStation 4 that will be unveiled next month at E3. According to rumors, the new “PS4 Neo” will feature 4K graphics and more powerful components to better support VR gaming.
