PlayStation 4 hits 60.4 million sales
As Microsoft rallies with Xbox One X, SIE's Andrew House says the PS4 platform is "in its prime"
Sony Interactive Entertainment has now sold 60.4 million units of the PlayStation 4 console, including both the original and Pro versions of the console.
That figure was correct as of June 11, 2017, the day before Sony took to the stage at E3 to deliver one of its shortest and more subdued press conferences of recent years - you can read our recap of the event here.
Sony said that it had sold 50 million units of the console as of December 6, 2016, about a month after the launch of the PS4 Pro. An additional 10 million units in 6 months is a healthy return, and last week Sony's Shawn Layden said that the PS4 Pro has represented about 20% of all unit sales.
With Microsoft making a lot of noise with its Xbox One X console this year, many expected Sony to use its own E3 conference to steal a little of that thunder. Speaking to GamesIndustry.biz yesterday, most analysts agreed that $499 was too high a price, even for "the most powerful console ever created." Dropping the price of the PS4 Pro by $50 to $349 would present a huge challenge to the Xbox One X, but Sony is evidently happy with its $100 cushion - for now, anyway.
In a statement released alongside the new sales milestone, SIE boss Andrew House said that, "the PS4 platform is in its prime, with the industry's best lineup of exclusive and partner titles slated to release this year."
The numbers back that up. PlayStation 4 software has already sold 487.8 million units across physical and digital channels, along with 26.4 million paid subscribers for the PlayStation Plus service - both figures were accurate as of the end of March 2017.
However, in its last fiscal report, Sony Corp. forecast shipments of the PS4 to slow down, from 20 million in the year ended March 2017 to 18 million in the year ahead.