Sony PlayStaion 4 (PS4) sales have blown by the 6 million unit mark worldwide in the four months since it was launched and the new console is helping to generate game and subscription sales the company reported.
The PS4, which went on sale Nov. 29 in the United States, Western Europe and Latin America, has surpassed the company's original sales target. At launch the company hoped sales would top 5 million by the end of March.
The game console is also generating strong game sales with 13.7 million titles sold in retail and electronic download as of March 2, Sony stated. Some of the top-selling games are Killzone Shadow Fall - which has sold 2.1 million copies, Knack, Call of Duty: Ghosts, FIFA14, Battlefield 4 and Assassin's Creed:IV Black Flag. Sony executives were particularly pleased that independent and third-party game developers have jumped onto the PS4 bandwagon.
"I am absolutely delighted that PS4 is off to such a great start in Japan," said Andrew House, President and Group CEO of Sony Computer Entertainment Inc. "The responses we have received for the PS4 system's integrated social capabilities have been phenomenal, and I couldn't be more thrilled that gamers are utilizing these unique features to engage, share, play and connect with users around the world. "
The number of PS4 titles will quickly expand with Metal Gear Solid V: Ground Zeroes, Kingdom Hearts III, Destiny, Watch Dogs and The Witness expected to roll out in the coming months.
The PS4 launch has also helped boost the number of players signing up for PlayStation Plus (PS Plus) membership. About half of all PS4 owners have joined PS Plus, the company said.
Sony is also making excellent inroads into the mobile space with the PlayStation App, receiving 3.6 million downloads as of March 2. The iOS and Android app allows users to purchase games and communicate with other players. The social aspect of the PS4 console is also growing, with Sony reporting that more than 100 million shares have been captured via the game controller's share button.
This level of sharing has led to 3.6 million gameplay broadcasts being streamed from PS4 systems using the streaming platforms Twitch and Ustream. This, in turn, has generated 56 million spectate session, which are times people watched the games.
The PS4 beat out the Xbox One in January, according to a report by The NPD Group. The research firm noted last month that Sony led console makers in sales for January. Hardware sales were up 17 percent to 241 million for that month, the NPD report stated.