It looks like Sony continues to dominate this generation’s console war when it comes to sales.
The company announced today it has sold more than 40 million PlayStation 4 units as of May 22, making it the fastest-selling console in Sony’s history. In comparison, Microsoft’s Xbox One sales fall somewhere in the 21.1 million range, though Microsoft does not reveal specifics sales stats, and Nintendo’s Wii U sales amount to 12.9 million units.
Sony’s recently released data also indicates strong PS4 software sales, with more than 270.9 million copies of games reportedly being sold through retail stores and the PlayStation Network. Estimates indicate that in Sony’s current fiscal year, which runs from April 1, 2016 to March 31, 2017, PS4 sales expectations amount to 20 million units sold worldwide.
“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,” said Andrew House, the president of Sony Interactive Entertainment, in a press release sent to MobileSyrup.
Despite strong sales, recent rumours indicate Sony is working on a new version of the PlayStation 4, currently codenamed “Neo.” The new version of the console will reportedly feature significantly more powerful graphics hardware and will be sold alongside the PlayStation 4, with all future game releases for the devices poised to be cross-compatible in some way.
Rumours also surfaced yesterday that Microsoft is working on a new 4K capable version of the Xbox One that is also 40 percent smaller than its predecessor. A second console, reportedly set to be released in 2017, will feature improved hardware and will adopt a compatibility strategy that is similar to Sony’s PS4 “Neo” project. Internally both future Xbox devices are known as “Scorpio.”
Uncharted 4: A Thief’s End, the PlayStation 4’s most recently released big name title, sold more than 2.7 million copies in its first week.
It’s expected we will learn more about Sony and Microsoft’s future console release plans at E3 this year in June.
[source]Sony[/source][via]Polygon[/via]
Related reading: Microsoft is reportedly working on an Xbox One slim, hardware upgrade XB1 for 2017
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