Sony's latest financial report has revealed that the PlayStation 4 is now the second best-selling home console of all time, sitting ahead of the Nintendo Wii and just behind the PlayStation 2.
The list of best-selling video game consoles is dominated by both Nintendo and Sony with the top ten containing five PlayStation systems, four Nintendo systems, and the Xbox 360. The PlayStation 2 is currently the best-selling video game console of all time with 155 million units sold, a record that may never be beaten.
Sony released its financial report today for Q2 2019, ending on September 30. The report states that the PlayStation 4 has sold 102.8 million units to date, putting it ahead of the original PlayStation (102.49 million) and the Nintendo Wii (101.63 million). This makes it the second best-selling home console of all time.
It also means that the PlayStation 4 has sold more than double the units than the Xbox One and almost triple the units of the Nintendo Switch, though the Nintendo Switch has only been on the market for two years.
It's not all doom and gloom for the Nintendo camp as these figures only refer to home consoles. If handhelds are also added to the equation, then the second best-selling video console of all time is the Nintendo DS. The DS sits just behind the PlayStation 2 at 154 million units sold.
The third best-selling console is the Game Boy line (including the Game Boy Color) with 118 million units sold. Nintendo's handheld outings have been incredibly successful for the company to the point where they have dominated the marketplace in comparison to Sony's handheld outings.
The PlayStation 4 has dominated this current console generation thanks to a killers row of exclusive titles that have made the system stand out compared to the competition. The failings of the competitors were also a big part of the reason why Sony took the lead.
The Xbox One launched with such a high price and initially didn't allow playback of second-hand games. This led to the device getting reamed by critics and fans alike. The Nintendo Wii U also sputtered at the marketplace when it launched, giving Sony an early lead. The Switch is currently going strong but might appear outdated by the time PS5 and Xbox Scarlett roll around.
Sony has every right to be proud of these sales numbers and the onus is now on them to improve upon them in the next console generation.
Source: Sony