It might seem hard to believe that it took so long, given the popularity of the PlayStation 4, but it has finally outsold the original PlayStation. At the end of the week of November 23, 2019, it had sold 102.53 million units, just barely topping the original, which sold 102.5 million, as well as the Nintendo Wii, which sold 101.63 million units in its lifetime.
While the PlayStation 4 proves its popularity in terms of best-selling home consoles, it still has a way to go until it reaches the number of PlayStation 2 units sold - a whopping 155 million. There are other game systems that have sold more as well: aside from the Nintendo Wii, there's also Game Boy, with lifetime sales of 118.69 million. The Nintendo Switch is also reaching high numbers considering it has only been out for two and a half years, at 36 million units sold, and expected to sell even more in the coming years.
According to the official Sony report for sales in the second quarter of this year, the console has sold 42.17 million units in Europe, 30.68 million in the US, and 8.5 million in Japan. Germany makes up most of the European sales with 7.91 million, closely followed by the UK with 7.11 million. As of December 2018, the best-sold PS4 game was Grand Theft Auto V, at 19.39 million units sold. In comparison, the original PlayStation's best selling game, Gran Turismo, sold 10.85 million. Other popular games released for the newest PlayStation include Uncharted 4: A Thief's End, which sold 16.25 million, Marvel's Spider-Man with 13.2 million copies sold, and The Last of Us Remastered with 11.78 million sold.
However, the console may not be selling as well as Sony had initially hoped. The initial projection of 15 million units sold in 2019 may well not be reached, as the company is now expecting to sell 13.5 million. For comparison, in 2018, it sold 17.8 million units - perhaps, in part, due to titles such as God of War and Marvel's Spider-Man launching and generating lots of hype. Sony’s gaming revenue has also suffered a hit: it is down 17 percent year on year, with profit down 28 percent.
All of this means that it is still highly unlikely it will reach the number of PlayStation 2 units sold, considering that the PlayStation 5 is expected to launch during next year's holiday season. This also means this holiday season may sell more newer PS4 games in favor of the console itself, since they will be compatible with the fifth iteration as well - and the PS4 is obviously at the end of its line - and what an incredible life it has had. It's safe to say it will be remembered fondly - but we're very ready for PS5.
Source: Sony